Tarnish (silver sulfide) may be removed from a silver spoon by placing the spoon in contact with a metallic container holding a solution of baking soda.

NOTE: The baking soda is a catalyst for the reaction; therefore, it does not appear as one of the reactants not as one of the products.

(a) If you wanted to test this method of removing tarnish, what readily-available type of metal container would you choose? Justify your answer.

(b) Prove that this would work using half-reaction equations.