The sodium salt of propanoic acid (sodium propanoate) is used as a preservative in bread and other baked goods - VCE - SSCE Chemistry - Question 12 - 2008 - Paper 1
Question 12
The sodium salt of propanoic acid (sodium propanoate) is used as a preservative in bread and other baked goods. It can be produced by reacting propanoic acid with so... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:The sodium salt of propanoic acid (sodium propanoate) is used as a preservative in bread and other baked goods - VCE - SSCE Chemistry - Question 12 - 2008 - Paper 1
Step 1
I The pH of the resulting solution will be less than that of the propanoic acid solution.
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Answer
This statement is false. When NaOH is added to propanoic acid, the resulting solution will have a higher pH than that of the propanoic acid solution, as NaOH is a strong base.
Step 2
II The resulting solution contains equal amounts of propanoic acid and its conjugate base.
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Answer
This statement is true. The addition of NaOH neutralizes propanoic acid, resulting in the formation of sodium propanoate, which is the conjugate base of propanoic acid. Given the concentrations and volumes used, they will react in stoichiometric amounts.
Step 3
III Before the NaOH was added there were no propanoate ions present.
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Answer
This statement is true. Prior to the addition of NaOH, the solution contained only propanoic acid, meaning there were no propanoate ions formed until the reaction occurred.
