Effervescence In Stomach.

So last night I was at steamboat buffet with the youth again. Someone mentioned that shells of fried prawns can be eaten. And something came to my mind.

Do you know what will happen if one takes so much of those fried prawns with shells? And why?


Answer is.. bloated feeling. Why? 'Cause the prawn's shell is calcium carbonate (CaCO3). So when they reach your stomach, they will react with the acid of your gastric juice (HCl) and based on stuff that we learned in form 4, carbon dioxide (CO2) should be released. Hence, bloated-ness?

CaCO3 + 2HCl --> CaCl2 + CO2 + H2O

Heh, interesting eh? I'm not a nerd btw.