How to Use Baking Soda to Make Alkaline Water

Baking soda's primary use is to make bread and pastries rise, but you can use it to make water alkaline too.
••• Brand X Pictures/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images

Baking soda or sodium bicarbonate is an ionic compound with the chemical formula NaHCO3. In water, it dissociates into two ions, Na+ and HCO3-, or sodium and bicarbonate ions. The bicarbonate ion is the conjugate base formed when a weak acid called carbonic acid gives up a hydrogen ion; as its conjugate base, bicarbonate can accept a hydrogen ion. This reaction decreases the hydrogen ion concentration in the water, making it more alkaline. The bottom line is this: if you want to make an alkaline solution for a simple science experiment, all you need to do is dissolve baking soda in water.

    Measure out some baking soda. The more baking soda you add, the more alkaline your solution will be. Sodium bicarbonate is a rather weak base, so you can never make the solution as alkaline as you would with a stronger base such as sodium hydroxide.

    Pour some water in the glass and add the baking soda. Stir until it dissolves.

    Dip the pH paper into the solution to measure its pH. The pH paper kits generally come with a scale showing which color matches which pH range; this way, you can get a rough estimate of how alkaline your solution is.

    Things You'll Need

    • Baking soda
    • Measuring spoon
    • Water
    • pH paper
    • Glass
    • Spoon

    Tips

    • Dissolved baking soda acts as a weak antacid by neutralizing a little HCl in your stomach if you drink it, although since it also contains sodium it increases your sodium intake.

Related Articles

How Does Salt Affect the pH of Water?
The Effects of NaOH Concentration with H2O
How to Calculate Ka From Ph
Test Your Knowledge on Middle School Science
Definition of Acidic Solution
Examples of Acidic Buffers
What Color Would a Tester PH Paper Turn if Is Dipped...
How to Make a Five Percent Solution With Salt
What Is pH of Sodium Carbonate in Water?
Alkaline Vs. Basic
Brine Vs. Conductivity
If You Dilute Vinegar, How Will It Affect the pH Value?
How to Raise the PH Level in Water
The Effects of Temperature on the pH of Water
How to Change Mixed Numbers Into Improper Fractions
How to Calculate the pH Effect of Dilution
How to Find the Half Equivalence Point in a Titration...
How to Put Base Log on Graphing Calculator
How to Calculate Statistical Mean
How to Turn a Negative Denominator into a Positive