The laboratory tech accidentally mixed NaHCO3 with BaCl2-2H2O instead of KCl when preparing unknown mixture for this experiment.
How would this mistake affect the calculated percentage of NaHCO3 in the mixture? Justify answer with an explanation.
Is it still possible to determine the percentage of NaHCO3 in the misture given the error made by the lab tech? Justify answer with an explanation.
Again, I don't know how you're determining the NaHCO3. If you're titrating it with HCl I don't think there would be a difference. Although you the use of H2SO4 as a titrant would cause pptn of BaSO4 I think it could be done with H2SO4 also.
The mistake of mixing NaHCO3 with BaCl2-2H2O instead of KCl will definitely affect the calculated percentage of NaHCO3 in the mixture. This is because BaCl2-2H2O (barium chloride dihydrate) is a different compound than KCl (potassium chloride) and will not react in the same way as KCl would in the experiment.
The experiment presumably involves a reaction between NaHCO3 and KCl, where one of the products of the reaction can be used to determine the percentage of NaHCO3 in the mixture. By mistakenly using BaCl2-2H2O instead of KCl, the reaction would not proceed as expected and the resulting products would be different. Therefore, the calculated percentage of NaHCO3 would be inaccurate if based on the expected reaction between NaHCO3 and KCl.
Furthermore, the reaction between NaHCO3 and BaCl2-2H2O might not produce any meaningful product or might produce a product that is difficult to analyze to determine the percentage of NaHCO3 accurately. Therefore, the mistake made by the lab tech would make it challenging or even impossible to determine the percentage of NaHCO3 in the mixture.
To accurately determine the percentage of NaHCO3 in the mixture, it is necessary to ensure that the correct reagents are used. If the lab tech wants to determine the percentage of NaHCO3, they should repeat the experiment using the correct reagents and following the proper procedure.