A student has accidentally spilled 100.0 mL of 3.0 mol/L nitric acid onto the lab bench. What mass of sodium bicarbonate would the teacher need to sprinkle on this spill to neutralize and clean it up?

25 g

Explanation:

Step 1: Write the balanced equation

HNO₃ + NaHCO₃ ⇒ NaNO₃ + H₂O + CO₂

Step 2: Calculate the reacting moles of HNO₃

100.0 mL of 3.0 mol/L HNO₃ reacted.

0.1000 L × 3.0 mol/L = 0.30 mol

Step 3: Calculate the reacting moles of NaHCO₃

The molar ratio of HNO₃ to NaHCO₃ is 1:1. The reacting moles of NaHCO₃ are 1/1 × 0.30 mol = 0.30 mol.

Step 4: Calculate the mass corresponding to 0.30 moles of NaHCO₃

The molar mass of NaHCO₃ is 84.01 g/mol.

0.30 mol × 84.01 g/mol = 25 g