Production of Sodium Carbonate Lab

As baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is heated strongly, the following chemical reaction occurs. sodium bicarbonate → sodium carbonate + carbon dioxide + water The balanced chemical equation appears as follows. 2 NaHCO3 (s) → Na2CO3 (s) + CO2 (g) + H2O (g) In this laboratory activity, students will be assigned a target mass of sodium carbonate. It is their job to determine the amount of sodium bicarbonate needed to produce that amount without any excess.