What is the concentration of sodium ions in a (2.2x10^0) mol/L solution of sodium carbonate? (answer to 2 s.d. in mol/L}

1 Answer
Stefan V.
May 29, 2017

4.4 * 10^0"mol L"^(-1)

Explanation:

Sodium carbonate, "Na"_color(red)(2)"CO"_3, is an ionic compound that, as its name and chemical formula suggest, contains sodium cations and carbonate anions in a color(red)(2):1 ratio.

This salt is soluble in water, which means that every time 1 mole of sodium carbonate dissolves in water, it produces color(red)(2) moles of sodium cations and 1 mole of carbonate anions in aqueous solution.

"Na"_ color(red)(2)"CO"_ (3(aq)) -> color(red)(2)"Na"_ ((aq))^(+) + "CO"_ (3(aq))^(2-)

This tells you that a sodium carbonate solution will always have

["Na"^(+)] = color(red)(2) * ["Na"_ 2"CO"_3]

In your case, the solution will have

["Na"^(+)] = color(red)(2) * 2.2 * 10^(0) "mol L"^(-1)

color(darkgreen)(ul(color(black)(["Na"^(+)] =4.4 * 10^0color(white)(.)"mol L"^(-1))))

The answer is rounded to two sig figs.

Related questions
See all questions in The Mole
Impact of this question
10417 views around the world
You can reuse this answer
Creative Commons License