Question

State the chemical property on which the use of baking soda is based as an antacid.

Answer 1

1. Baking soda is used as an antacid due to its weakly alkaline nature, as antacids are always basic or alkaline in nature.
2. Baking soda neutralizes the effect of excess acid present in the stomach and gives relief from indigestion and heartburn.

Reaction involved:

$\underset{\mathrm{Sodium}\mathrm{hydrogen}\mathrm{carbonate}}{{\mathrm{NaHCO}}_3\left(\mathrm{s}\right)}+\underset{\mathrm{Hydrochloric}\mathrm{acid}}{\mathrm{HCl}\left(\mathrm{l}\right)}\stackrel{}{\to }\underset{\mathrm{Sodium}\mathrm{chloride}}{\mathrm{NaCl}\left(\mathrm{s}\right)}+{\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{O}\left(\mathrm{l}\right)+{\mathrm{CO}}_2\left(\mathrm{g}\right)$

Therefore, baking soda can be used as an antacid due to its alkaline nature.