Sodium carbonate solution is alkaline due to hydrolysis of:a) Na+b) CO3--c) both Na+ & CO3--

Dear student,

conjugate bases (i.e. the anion) of weak acids are mildly basic.  Here's why...the conjugate base of any weak acid tends to be a somewhat strong base not in terms of causticity but in terms of affinity for a proton.  When a bicarbonate ion is placed in water, it absconds with a proton from a water molecule, leaving behind a hydroxide ion for every molecule of bicarbonate.  The reaction is as follows:

HCO3- + H2O -> H2CO3 + OH-

This is normally a reversible reaction, but H2CO3 (carbonic acid) has the tendency to lose a CO2 molecule, leaving behind some mildly basic water.

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