Final answer:
Glass is created by heating a mixture of sand, soda (sodium carbonate), and limestone (calcium carbonate). This process forms soda-lime-silica glass, which is transparent and commonly used in window glass and tableware.
Step-by-step explanation:
The material made by heating a mixture of sand, soda (sodium carbonate), and limestone (calcium carbonate) is glass. These components are the fundamentals for making soda-lime-silica glass, which is the most common type of glass and is transparent and easily formed. The sodium carbonate, often extracted from trona, together with sand (which is largely silica or silicon dioxide), and lime (produced from limestone, calcium carbonate) form this type of glass.
The process involves the heating of these materials to a very high temperature, where they melt and fuse to form a homogenous liquid which, when cooled, forms glass. Glass has been made for thousands of years and can be shaped into various forms such as sheets for windows or blown into different shapes for tableware or artistic purposes.