What Are The Products When We Heat Baking Soda?

Textbook: 205, 206

Extra support version
This lab relies on the law of conservation of mass which states that matter cannot be created or destroyed just
changed from one form to another.

Assessment
Application: Answers to questions 1 to 6.
Analysis: Answers to questions 7, 8 and 9.

Risk Assessment:
Wear eye protection throughout the experiment and handle the hot crucible with care!

Introduction
Baking soda is added to cakes because it makes them rise as the reaction produces the gas carbon dioxide. But what
else is made? Your task is to find out! The chemical name for baking soda is sodium hydrogen carbonate and there are
three possible sodium products that could be produced (along with CO and possibly H O) – these are either NaOH,
2 2

Na O or Na CO .
2 2 3

Procedure

1. Find the mass of an empty crucible.

2. Measure out 4.2g of NaHCO into the crucible.
3

3. Heat the crucible and contents vigorously with a bunsen burner for three minutes.
4. Find the new mass.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until there are no more changes in the mass.

Note you can start answering the questions below while the experiment is underway.

Results
(add more rows to the results table as required)

Mass (g)

Mass of empty crucible 30.21

Mass of crucible and NaHCO at the start

3 34.9

Mass of NaHCO 3 4.2

Mass of crucible and contents after heating 33.95

the first time

Mass of crucible and contents after heating 33.47

the second time

Mass of crucible and contents after heating 33.34

the third time

Mass of crucible and contents after heating 33.33

the fourth time

Mass of crucible and contents after heating 33.33

the fifth time

Mass of final product 1.57

Calculations and Questions

 1. Find the balanced equations for the three possible options

a. The sodium product is sodium hydroxide

1 NaHCO 3 → 1 NaOH + 1 CO 2

b) The sodium product is sodium oxide

2 NaHCO 3 → 1 Na O 2 + 2 CO 2 + 1HO
2

c) The sodium product is sodium carbonate

2 NaHCO 3 → 1 Na CO 2 + 1 CO
3 2 + 1HO 2

2. What will happen to any water and carbon dioxide produced in the reaction? Where will it go?

The water will evaporate from the heat and the Carbon dioxide will release as a gas.

3. Find the molar mass for NaHCO . This is the same as the formula mass and can be found using the mass
3

numbers in the periodic table.

The molar mass is 84 g p/m

4. Find the number of moles of NaHCO that reacted, using the “number of moles=mass/Molar mass” equation.
3

There is 0.05 m oles that reacted

5. Find the molar mass of NaOH and use the mole ratio in equation a) to find how much mass of NaOH should
have been formed if this was the correct equation.

Balanced 1 NaHCO 3 → 1 NaOH 1 CO 2

equation

Mass (m in g) 4.2 → 2 2.2

Molar mass (M 84 → 40 44
in g/mol)

Moles (n in mol) 0.05 → 0.05 0.05

6. Repeat step 5 for Na O and Na CO using equations b) and c) respectively.

2 2 3

a.

Balanced 2 NaHCO 3 → 1Na O

2 2CO 2 1H O 2

equation

Mass (m in 4.2 → 1.55 2.2 0.45

g)

Molar mass 84 → 62 44 18
(M in g/mol)

Moles (n in 0.05 → 0.025 0.05 0.025

mol)

a.
Balanced _2_ NaHCO 3 → _1Na CO
2 3 1__CO2 _1_H O
2

equation

Mass (m in 4.2 → 2.65 1.1 0.45

g)

Molar mass 84 → 106 44 18

(M in g/mol)

Moles (n in 0.05 → 0.025 0.025 0.025

mol)

7. Use your experimental results to decide which one of the three possibilities has been the one to actually
occur. Explain your reasoning.
When looking at all these equations in relation to the results of the experiment the first thing that needs to be considered
is that in this reaction, the carbon dioxide and water are evaporated out so the mass of these compounds are irrelevant.
The final mass of NaHCO left was 1.57 grams and the closest result was the second equation where the sodium
equates to about 1.55 g. This leads me to believe that the second equation is the most correct one.
8. How close were the experimental results to the theoretical results?
What errors could have occurred in the experiments and what effect would they have had on the results?

The only difference between the actual and theorized results was 0.02 grams which is very close. There were many
errors that could have been made including human errors like not keeping the timing consistent or mechanical errors
like something wrong in the weighing machine. These would have affected the actual results of the experiment either
making it too big or too small.

9. Baking soda is added to cakes, do you think it is a suitable addition to cakes? Explain your reasoning.
Treats such as cakes, breads and cookies, need to be leveled and the products from the reaction are H20 which is
evaporated in the head CO2 which is the agent that actually make the cake physically rise. It is only because of this that
the cake rises which is why I believe it is a suitable addition to cakes.