Question

suppose the fluid in the stomach of a woman suffering from indigestion can be considered to be of a m solution. what mass of would she need to ingest to neutralize this much ? round your answer to significant digits.

Answer 1

The neutralize the acid in her stomach, the woman would need to ingest approximately 8.401 grams of NaOH.

To neutralize the excess stomach acid, the woman would need to ingest an equivalent amount of sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3), which is a base that can react with the acid to form water and carbon dioxide.

Assuming a 100 mL volume of stomach fluid with an M concentration of hydrochloric acid (HCl), the amount of HCl in the stomach can be calculated using the formula:

moles of HCl = concentration (M) × volume (L)

moles of HCl = M × (100 mL / 1000 mL/L) = 0.1M

To neutralize the HCl, an equivalent amount of NaHCO3 is needed. The balanced chemical equation for the neutralization reaction is:

HCl + NaHCO3 → NaCl + CO2 + H2O

From the stoichiometry of the reaction, 1 mole of HCl reacts with 1 mole of NaHCO3. Therefore, 0.1 moles of HCl would require 0.1 moles of NaHCO3 for neutralization.

The molar mass of NaHCO3 is 84.01 g/mol. Therefore, the mass of NaHCO3 needed for neutralization is:

mass of NaHCO3 = moles of NaHCO3 × molar mass

mass of NaHCO3 = 0.1 moles × 84.01 g/mol = 8.401 g .