The Problem: How does temperature affect the dissolving time of an antacid tablet? Antacid tablets are medicines that help neutralize the acid in your stomach. Antacid tablets are made of numerous numbers of components, such as sodium bicarbonate (baking powder), magnesium hydroxide, critic acid, and many others. When Antacid tablets are placed in water, they undergo a chemical reaction, where the sodium bicarbonate breaks apart to make sodium and bicarbonate ions. When the bicarbonate ions collide with hydrogen ions, it produces carbonic acid. Carbonic acid, then decomposes and creates water plus carbon dioxide. The water and carbon dioxide are incorporated because of temperature. Temperature is the measure of the average heat or thermal