Baking soda or sodium bicarbonate is an ionic compound with the chemical formula NaHCO3. In water, it dissociates into two ions, Na+ and HCO3-, or sodium and bicarbonate ions. The bicarbonate ion is the conjugate base formed when a weak acid called carbonic acid gives up a hydrogen ion; as its conjugate base, bicarbonate can accept a hydrogen ion. This reaction decreases the hydrogen ion concentration in the water, making it more alkaline. The bottom line is this: if you want to make an alkaline solution for a simple science experiment, all you need to do is dissolve baking soda in water.
- Baking soda
- Measuring spoon
- Water
- pH paper
- Glass
- Spoon
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Instructions
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1
Measure out some baking soda. The more baking soda you add, the more alkaline your solution will be. Sodium bicarbonate is a rather weak base, so you can never make the solution as alkaline as you would with a stronger base such as sodium hydroxide.
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2
Pour some water in the glass and add the baking soda. Stir until it dissolves.
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3
Dip the pH paper into the solution to measure its pH. The pH paper kits generally come with a scale showing which color matches which pH range; this way, you can get a rough estimate of how alkaline your solution is.
