Question

What happen when sodium metal is added to alcohol ?write their chemical equation.

Answer 1

Answer:

When sodium metal is added to ethanol, the following chemical reaction takes place:

2 C_2H_5OH + 2Na -> 2C_2H_5ONa + H_2

Thus, we can see that hydrogen gas is evolved when sodium reacts with ethanol. Along with the gas, sodium ethoxide is also generated. When we evaporate the solution, we end with a precipitate of sodium ethoxide.

A similar reaction of sodium also takes place with water and we obtain the same gas. This chemical reaction can be written as:

2Na + 2H_2O -> 2NaOH + H_2

Here, sodium hydroxide and hydrogen gas are the products and hence the reaction is similar to that between sodium and ethanol.

Incidentally, a reaction of sodium with other alcohols (such as methanol, propanol, etc.) will also be along the similar lines and will generate hydrogen gas.

Hope this helps.