Question

Will the mass of a 150-mL beaker w/ NaHCO3 + HCl increase after it is incubated since it turns into a salt, NaCl?

Answer 1

Balanced chemical equation: NaHCO3 (s) + HCl (aq) ---> NaCl (aq) + CO2 (g) + H2O (l)

Answer 2

In most cases, reactions will not change the overall mass of a solution because there are the same number of atoms of each element present as before.

However, in this particular case, there is carbon dioxide gas formed. Some of this gas will escape into the atmosphere, and therefore reduce the mass of the beaker + solution.