Baking Soda Stoichiometry

Predict how much sodium carbonate (Na2C03) is produced when baking soda decomposes. 

Materials ring stand, ring, clay triangle, crucible, crucible tongs, Bunsen burner, balance, 

Measure the mass of a clean, dry crucible. Add about 3.0 g of NaHC03 and measure the combined mass of the crucible and NaHC03- Record both masses in your data table and calculate the mass of the NaHCO,. 

Use this starting mass of baking soda and the balanced chemical equation to calculate the mass of Na2C03 that will be produced. 

Set up a ring stand with a ring and clay triangle for heating the crucible. 

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The evolution of carbon dioxide essentially follows the stoichiometry of acid—base reactions. Baking soda determines the amount of carbon dioxide evolved, whereas the type of acid controls the speed of liberation. The reaction equations for some acids with baking soda are as follows ... 

We know from the conservation of mass that when we run a reaction in a batch reactor the mass of products must be equal to the mass of reactants so long as nothing has escaped from the reactor. This holds absolutely and is independent of the chemical reaction type, mechanism, or stoichiometry. All that chemical reactions do is to rearrange the atoms and mass in the molecules. In essence the labels on the mass change but that is all. If the reaction in solution leads to a gas such as the reaction of baking soda with vinegar water (that is, sodium bicarbonate with dilute acetic acid), then a mass change can take place because one of the products is a gas and can escape the vessel ... 

You decide to make a cake one day, and the recipe calls for baking powder. Unfortunately, you have no baking powder. You do have cream of tartar and baking soda, so you use stoichiometry to figure out how much of each to mix. 

The stoichiometry of the reaction between vinegar and baking soda... 

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