How can you conduct the given chemical reaction in your lab?
Base + Metal → salt + hydrogen
Answers
Explanation:
The experiment is done first on a smaller scale using test tubes (lesson 1 below), with no attempt to recover the salts formed. This establishes that hydrogen production is a characteristic property of the reaction of metals and acids. It can then be done on a larger scale (lesson 2 below), and the salts formed can be recovered by crystallisation.
Lesson 1 is a series of test tube experiments in which each working group establishes as a common feature that hydrogen is given off as metals react with an acid – if the metal reacts at all. This should take around 40 minutes, and most classes should be able to do this version. Each working group needs a small selection of metals and acids to test.
The range of metals and acids tested can be extended to a teacher demonstration in the concluding part of this lesson.
Lesson 2, in which the salt formed is recovered by crystallisation, takes longer, and the class needs to be reliable enough in behaviour and manipulative skills to cope with the hazards involved in heating acidic solutions in beakers on tripods.