Metal carbonates

• What are the two main reactions of metal carbonates?

  1. Metal carbonates can react with acid. All metal carbonates react with acid to form metal salt, Carbon dioxide and water. Th metal salt produced depends what what metal and acid has been used
  2. Metal carbonates break down when they're heated. This forms a product.
• What is acid rain made from and how does it damage limestone?

  • Limestone reacts with acid
• What is acid rain made from and how does it effect limestone?

  • Sulphur dioxide
  • Limestone reacts with acid
  • If the air is polluted, gasses such as sulphur dioxide dissolve in the rain. This causes the rain to have sulphur dioxide in it's contents
  • This can damage plants and infrastructure as well as it can injure people and animals
  • Over years, buildings that contain limestone can be eaten away because the acid reacts with the limestone
• Example of a chemical change

  • Sodium copper carbonate is heated to form copper oxide and carbon dioxide
  • Bluish - green copper carbonate solid gives off colourless carbon dioxide gas and leaves behind black solid copper oxide
• Thermal decomposition


  • The breakdown of a substance through heat