[AksarBhai (OP)]

Hi, me and a classmate have to do a chemistry experiment with baking powder to figure out, what it is made of, how it works and set up the chemical equation.

We already tried to find this out: so this is what we came to: It contains NaHCO3 and this reacts with an acid in water and this releases CO2

NaHCO3(aq)+H > Na +CO2(g)+H2O

Is this correct? Secondly we have to measure the active substance in a small bag of baking powder, how can we calculate this with an experiment? We thought of using a gas syringe but we are not sure how to work this out.

The final answer we have to give using an experiment is: how do you calculate the maximal rising capacity of the dough for the quantity of active substance in the bag. We are completely clueless on this one and hope we can find some answers here.

With kind regards

Kh_0502

[chiralSPO]

Your balanced equation looks good to me (as long as that's H⁺ and Na⁺).

You have two options:
1) see how much gas (by volume) is produced (a syringe could work, or an inverted graduated cylinder or buret, filled with displaceable water)
or
2) see how much acid is needed to get to the point where it stops bubbling (a titration).

you can choose based on what's available, and what your level of understanding is.