NCERT Exemplar Solutions
Class 10 - Science - CHAPTER 2: Acids, Bases and Salts - Long Answer Questions
Question 44

Question. 44

44. For making cake, baking powder is taken. If at home your mother uses baking soda instead of baking powder in cake,

(a) how will it affect the taste of the cake and why?

(b) how can baking soda be converted into baking powder?

(c) what is the role of tartaric acid added to baking soda?

Answer:

(a) The cake will taste bitter because heating NaHCO₃ gives Na₂CO₃ (sodium carbonate) which is bitter: \(\mathrm{2NaHCO_3 \xrightarrow{heat} Na_2CO_3 + H_2O + CO_2}\).
(b) Convert baking soda to baking powder by adding an appropriate amount of tartaric acid (or another edible acid) to produce a mixture that evolves CO₂ on heating.
(c) Tartaric acid neutralises some of the sodium carbonate formed, preventing bitterness and providing controlled CO₂ release for leavening.

Detailed Answer with Explanation:

Steps: Baking powder is a mixture of NaHCO₃ and a food-grade acid (e.g. tartaric acid). On heating they react to give CO₂ for rising. Without the acid, residual carbonate causes bitterness.

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NCERT Exemplar Solutions Class 10 – Science – CHAPTER 2: Acids, Bases and Salts – Long Answer Questions | Detailed Answers