Question

Explain why baking soda, nahco3, is commonly used as an emergency safety remedy for lab spills that are acids or bases. support your answer by writing an equation for baking soda cast onto: a spill of naoh(aq) a spill of h2so4(aq)

Answer 1

Answer:

The question is partially wrong. For spills of strong bases, such as sodium hydroxide, it must be neutralized with sulfuric or hydrochloric acid. Otherwise, for acid spills, neutralize them with sodium bicarbonate. The reactions are as follows:

Base spills: H2SO4 + 2NaOH → Na2SO4 + 2H2O

Sulfuric acid reacts with sodium hydroxide forming sodium sulfate and water.

Acid spills: H2SO4 + 2NaHCO3 → Na2SO4 + 2CO2 + 2H2O

Sulfuric acid reacts with sodium bicarbonate forming sodium sulfate, water and carbon dioxide.

Explanation:

For the destruction of strong inorganic bases such as sodium hydroxide (NaOH) they must be neutralized with a dilute solution of sulfuric acid or a dilute solution of hydrochloric acid.

For the destruction of strong inorganic acids such as sulfuric acid, they must be neutralized with an inorganic base such as sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3)

Answer 2

NAHCO3 doesn't help basic spills. It's slightly basic itself. It's good for acid spills though. It's not a very strong base so any leftover NaHCO3 won't be a hazard.
I DONT KNOW about h2so4