Question

Hi, I just did a Lab experiment called the Air Bag Experiment which involved sodium bicarbonate and sulfuric acid. The first experiment with the selected bag had sodium bicarbonate as the limiting reagent and the second experiment with the same bag had sulfuric acid as the limiting reagent both of these conditions will cause for the bag to inflate. I was giving a discussion question that asked:

Why would the bag inflate the same for each condition?

Answer 1

SOLUTION:

The reaction between Sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO₃) and sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄) is given by:

$2NaHCO_{3}_{(aq)}+H_{2}SO_{4}_{(aq)}\rightarrow Na_{2}SO_{4}_{(aq)}+2CO_{2}_{(g)}+2H_{2}O_{(l)}$

From the above reaction, the only gaseous product formed is carbon dioxide.

This carbon dioxide is responsible for the inflation of the bags.

In both cases, the amount of CO₂ formed will be the same. Hence inflation will be the same for both experiments.