Question

If a typical antacid tablet contains 2.0 g of sodium hydrogen carbonate, how many moles of carbon dioxide should one tablet yield?

Answer 1

Answer: The 2.0 grams of sodium hydrogen carbonate will yield 0.0238 moles of carbon-dioxide.

Explanation:

Mass of sodium hydrogen carbonate in 1 tablet = 2.0 g

$NaHCO_3+ HCl\rightarrow NaCl+H_2O+CO_2$

Moles of $NaHCO_3=\frac{\text{Mass of }Na_2CO_3}{\text{Molar Mass of }Na_2CO_3}=\frac{2.0 g}{84 g/mol}=0.0238 moles$

According to reaction 1 mole of$Na_2CO_3$ gives 1 mole of $CO_2$ then 0.0238 mole of$Na_2CO_3$ will give: $\frac{1}{1}\times 0.0238$ moles of $CO_2$ that is 0.0238 moles.

So, the 2.0 grams of sodium hydrogen carbonate will yield 0.0238 moles of carbon-dioxide.

Answer 2

The equation of the chemical reaction is NaHCO3 + H+ --> H2O + CO2 + Na
To determine the total number of moles of carbon dioxide, the given mass of sodium hydrogen carbonate is divided with its own molar mass. Then it is multiplied with the ratio between NaHCO3 and carbon dioxide. The total number of moles of CO2 one tablet should yield is 0.024 mole.