How can I work out which gas is released when ethanoic acid is reacted with sodium?
Ethanoic acid is CH3COOH. Acids can ionise, producing H+ ions and in this case, CH3COO (ethanoate) ions. The sodium exists as Na+ ions in solution, which then create neutral ion complexes with the ethanoate ions, as CH3COO Na+ . The displaced H+ ions from two of these processes combine to form hydrogen gas, H2 .
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