Given below are two statements, one is labelled as Assertion A and the other is labelled as Reason R
Assertion A : Carbon forms two important oxides - CO and CO₂. CO is neutral whereas CO₂ is acidic in nature
Reason R : CO₂ can combine with water in a limited way to form carbonic acid, while CO is sparingly soluble in water
In the light of the above statements, choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below :

Solution

Chemistry ma’am · 4 steps

Ask what each oxide does with water: an oxide that makes an acid in water is an acidic oxide.

1. What acidic means. An oxide is called acidic when it reacts with water to give an acid, or reacts with a base to give a salt. An oxide that does neither is neutral.

   Oxide	With water	Nature
   CO₂	CO₂ + H₂O ⇌ H₂CO₃, carbonic acid forms to a limited extent	acidic
   CO	sparingly soluble, gives no acid	neutral

2. Check A. Carbon does form CO and CO₂. CO₂ is acidic, and it also reacts with NaOH to give Na₂CO₃. CO shows neither behaviour, so A is correct.
3. Check R. R is also correct. It states exactly the behaviour with water that sorts the two oxides: CO₂ makes carbonic acid, while CO barely dissolves and makes no acid.
4. So. Both A and R are correct, and R is the correct explanation of A. The answer is (c).

The idea to keep. To decide whether an oxide is acidic, basic or neutral, look at what it gives with water: an acid, a base, or nothing at all.

Answer from the NTA final answer key. Solution by PrepWiser.