A brief description of Sodium nitrate and hydrochloric acid
Sodium nitrate belongs to the family of compounds called salts, which are formed by uniting an acid (nitric in this instance) with a base (in this case sodium hydroxide). When sodium nitrate is combined with hydrochloric acid, an exchange reaction occurs, producing sodium chloride and nitric acid. The salt and nitric acid can be separated from each other and the two substances can be put to practical used. The Reaction: In the symbols of chemical terminology, the reaction may be written as, NaNO3 + HCl ---> NaCl + HNO3 This says that one molecule of sodium nitrate reacts with one molecule of hydrochloric acid to produce one molecule of sodium chloride and one molecule of nitric acid. Sodium Chloride: one of the reaction products, sodium chloride, is readily available in nature, so this reaction is not a particularly useful source for that substance. Purified sodium chloride is ordinary table salt and in its impure state( halite) is used for a variety of purposes, including( among ma...