Questions

Sodium hydroxide, also known as lye and caustic soda, is an inorganic compound with the formula NaOH. It is a white solid ionic compound consisting of sodium cations Na+ and hydroxide anions OH−.

Properties:

1. It is highly soluble in water, and readily absorbs moisture and carbon dioxide from the air.

2. NaOH is insoluble in ether and other non-polar solvents.

3. It is an odorless compound.

Uses:

Sodium hydroxide is used in many industries: in the manufacture of pulp and paper, textiles, drinking water, soaps and detergents, and as a drain cleaner.

Rainfall and addition of fresh water from rivers reduce salinity neat the coasts.

With reforms in the public sector banking space, the government has constituted a ministerial panel headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley that will oversee merger proposals of state-owned banks. The other members of the panel include Railway and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Proxima Centauri is the nearest star to the Earth.