Theoretically, how many moles of carbonic acid will be produced by 3.00 g sample of NaHCO3

Question

aaronq · Answer

First, write a balanced chemical equation for the process.
Next, convert the mass given to moles.
Now, use the stoichiometric coefficients to find moles produced. 
Set up a ratio using the species of interest, like so:

e.g. for a general reaction:

                      $\color{red}{a}A + \color{blue}{b}B$ $\rightleftharpoons$ $ \color{green}{c}C$

where upper case are the species (A,B,C), and lower case (a,b,c) are the coefficients ,

                     $\dfrac{n_A}{\color{red}{a}}=\dfrac{n_B}{\color{blue}{b}}=\dfrac{n_C}{\color{green}{c}}$

From here you can isolate what you need. 
For example: if you have 2 moles of B, how many moles of C can you produce?

solve algebraically:      $\dfrac{2}{\color{blue}{b}}=\dfrac{n_C}{\color{green}{c}}\rightarrow n_C=\dfrac{2*\color{green}{c}}{\color{blue}{b}}$