Question

1. you can now convert the student response moles $ce{nahco_{3}}$ to moles of the various products in the four possible equations.

youll compare the calculated values to the experiments results to determine which of the four possible reactions is correct.
start with the first possible reaction on the list, reaction #1.
balance reaction #1.
$\boldsymbol{?} ce{nahco_{3}(s)
ightarrow ? naoh(s) + ? co_{2}(g)}$
i need a hint
choices:
1 2 3 4

Explanation:

Step1: Count Na atoms

Left: 1 Na in $\text{NaHCO}_3$; Right: 1 Na in $\text{NaOH}$ (temporarily balanced)

Step2: Count C atoms

Left: 1 C in $\text{NaHCO}_3$; Right: 1 C in $\text{CO}_2$ (balanced)

Step3: Count H atoms

Left: 1 H in $\text{NaHCO}_3$; Right: 1 H in $\text{NaOH}$ (balanced)

Step4: Count O atoms

Left: 3 O in $\text{NaHCO}_3$; Right: 1 O in $\text{NaOH}$ + 2 O in $\text{CO}_2$ = 3 O (balanced)

Step5: Verify all atoms

All elements have equal counts on both sides.

Answer:

$\text{NaHCO}_3(s)
ightarrow \text{NaOH}(s) + \text{CO}_2(g)$
The coefficients are: 1, 1, 1