What do you typically expect when an acid reacts with a carbonate compound?

When an acid reacts with a carbonate compound, the typical products of this reaction are salt, water, and carbon dioxide. Carbonates are ionic compounds that contain the carbonate ion (CO₃²⁻), and when they react with acids (which often release hydrogen ions, H⁺), a chemical reaction occurs that produces these specific products.

The reaction can be generally represented as follows:

Acid + Carbonate → Salt + Water + Carbon Dioxide

In this process, the hydrogen ions from the acid react with the carbonate ions, resulting in the formation of carbon dioxide gas, which is released as bubbles. The remaining ions from the acid and the carbonate combine to form a salt, while water is produced from the combination of remaining hydrogen ions with hydroxide ions.

This reaction is a classic example of an acid-base reaction where the carbonate acts as a base, neutralizing the acid, leading to the production of the aforementioned products. The effervescence or bubbling observed during the reaction is due to the formation of carbon dioxide.

Other outcomes such as producing only salt, or salt and water, do not fully account for the behavior of carbonates with acids, as the release of carbon dioxide is a key feature of this reaction.