Final answer:
The chemical equation of sodium carbonate reacting with silica to form sodium silicate and carbon dioxide is balanced as Na2CO3 + SiO2 → Na2SiO3 + CO2. This reaction is a type of decomposition reaction similar to sodium hydrogen carbonate decomposing into sodium carbonate, carbon dioxide, and water.
Step-by-step explanation:
The subject of the question is a chemical reaction between sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) and silica (SiO2) to produce sodium silicate (Na2SiO3) and carbon dioxide (CO2). To balance the given chemical equation, we would need to ensure that the number of atoms of each element on the reactant side is equal to the number of atoms on the product side. The balanced chemical equation for this reaction can be written as:
Na2CO3 + SiO2 → Na2SiO3 + CO2
This reaction can be classified as a decomposition reaction, where the single substance sodium hydrogen carbonate decomposes to form sodium carbonate, carbon dioxide, and water as denoted by the equation 2 NaHCO3(s) → Na2CO3(s) + CO2(g) + H2O(l).