Question

Write the balanced chemical equation for the following:

Oxidation of Carbon with concentrated Nitric acid.

Answer 1

Reaction between Carbon and conc. Nitric acid:

• Concentrated Nitric acid is a strong oxidizing agent which oxidizes the non-metal to their respective oxide.
• When Carbon reacts with conc. Nitric Acid, it will lead to the formation of Carbonic acid, Nitrogen dioxide gas, and Water as a product.
• The balanced chemical reaction can be written as:

$\underset{\mathrm{Carbon}}{\mathrm{C}\left(\mathrm{s}\right)}+\underset{\mathrm{Nitric}\mathrm{acid}}{4{\mathrm{HNO}}_3\left(\mathrm{aq}\right)}\to \underset{\mathrm{Carbonic}\mathrm{acid}}{{\mathrm{H}}_2{\mathrm{CO}}_3\left(\mathrm{aq}\right)}+\underset{\mathrm{NItrogen}\mathrm{dioxide}}{4{\mathrm{NO}}_2\left(\mathrm{g}\right)}+\underset{\mathrm{Water}}{{\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{O}\left(\mathrm{l}\right)}$