Question

Many minerals such as limestone contain the carbonate ion. Write a short paragraph describing how you could chemically test for the presence of this ion in a mineral.

Answer 1

Carbonate is a salt otherwise ester of carbonic acid, denoted through the occurrence of the carbonate ion, CO2−3 otherwise a carbonate efficient set O=C(O-)2.

We can analysis for the carbonate ion through adding weaken acid. An acid is a material that shapes a clarification with a pH value of fewer than 7. Acidic solutions enclose an surplus of hydrogen ions, H+(aq). acid. If the gas known off revolves limewater cloudy, next the test is positive. For instance, if we put in dilute hydrochloric acid to sodium carbonate, sodium chloride is shaped and carbon dioxide gas - which rolls limewater cloudy - is known off. The equation for this reaction is:

2 HCl(aq) + Na2CO3(s) 2 NaCl(aq) + H2O(l) + CO2(g)

The ionic equation is:

2 H+(aq) + CO32−(aq) H2O(l) + CO2(g)

The carbonate ion CO3-2 doesn’t have a force in a compound otherwise mineral. To have a force, it would require to be a gas. There are a lot of examines for carbonate. Maybe the simplest is acid titration. Even infrared spectroscopy can demonstrate the occurrence of carbonate.