Unless there is another leavening agent in the recipe, such as baking powder or other leavening procedures, such as beating egg whites to fold in, baking soda is the only thing that will make your cake rise.
When baking soda comes into contact with the liquid in the batter, it's activated and makes bubbles, which make the cake rise.
If you have an acid in the cake (like lemon juice, brown sugar, etc) and don't add a base, like baking soda, you don't get any rise because there is no chemical reaction to product carbon dioxide bubbles.
If you have baking powder in the recipe, and still do not get a rise, then the baking powder is old and no longer working.
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When baking soda comes into contact with the liquid in the batter, it's activated and makes bubbles, which make the cake rise.
If you have baking powder in the recipe, and still do not get a rise, then the baking powder is old and no longer working.
Hope all this makes sense.