Meaning & use
hydrogen carbonate
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountablechemistry
The negatively charged ion HCO3-, made of one hydrogen, one carbon and three oxygen atoms, found in blood, natural waters and baking soda.
Grammar: Usually uncountable in general statements: hydrogen carbonate buffers the blood; a count use refers to types of salt.
Patterns
- hydrogen carbonate of something
Hydrogen carbonate in the blood helps keep its acidity within a safe range.
The water report listed calcium and hydrogen carbonate as the main dissolved ions.
When you add acid to sodium hydrogen carbonate, it fizzes and releases carbon dioxide.
noununcountablechemistry
A salt containing this ion, especially sodium hydrogen carbonate, the white powder used in baking and as an antacid.
Grammar: Often appears as a compound name: sodium hydrogen carbonate.
Patterns
- sodium hydrogen carbonate
The recipe calls for a teaspoon of sodium hydrogen carbonate to make the cake rise.
Students dissolved hydrogen carbonate in water and tested the solution with indicator paper.
The label says the tablet contains potassium hydrogen carbonate.
Word forms
| plural | hydrogen carbonates |
|---|
Common combinations
- sodium hydrogen carbonate
- Sodium hydrogen carbonate is the systematic name for baking soda.
- hydrogen carbonate ion
- Each hydrogen carbonate ion carries a single negative charge.
- hydrogen carbonate buffer
- The hydrogen carbonate buffer stabilizes the acidity of blood.
- dissolved hydrogen carbonate
- Dissolved hydrogen carbonate makes some spring water taste slightly soft.
- hydrogen carbonate level
- The doctor checked her hydrogen carbonate level with a blood test.
Synonyms and how they differ
- bicarbonate
- Bicarbonate is the older and more everyday name for the same ion, while hydrogen carbonate is the systematic name preferred in chemistry teaching.
Word family
- carbonate noun
- a salt containing the CO3 2- ion, related but with no hydrogen
- carbonic adjective
- relating to carbon or to carbonic acid
- hydrogen noun
- the lightest chemical element
- carbonation noun
- the process of dissolving carbon dioxide in a liquid
Commonly confused: hydrogen carbonate or carbonate?
hydrogen carbonate vs carbonate
A carbonate has no hydrogen in its ion (CO3 2-), whereas hydrogen carbonate has one hydrogen (HCO3-).
Practice
Which compound is usually called baking soda in the kitchen?
Choose one answer.
Baking soda is sodium hydrogen carbonate. Calcium carbonate is chalk or limestone, a different salt with no hydrogen in its ion.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “hydrogen carbonate”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.