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Chapter 5 - Acids and alkalis 5a - Making acid 

and alkali solutions

Experiment 6.5

The reactions of aluminium with sodium hydroxide 

& sodium carbonate

• aluminium foil
• sodium hydroxide 

solution

• sodium carbonate 

solution

• 2 test tubes

Cut up a 2cm square of aluminium foil into small pieces and put 
them into a clean dry test tube. Add 2cm of sodium hydroxide 
solution. Gently warm the solution and look carefully at the 
aluminium foil. What do you think the gas is that is being formed?
You can test to show that it is hydrogen gas by burning it as you 
did in Experiment 6.1.
Sodium carbonate is also an alkali. Repeat the experiment using 
your sodium carbonate solution instead of sodium hydroxide.

Experiment 6.6

The reaction of magnesium with water

• magnesium strip
• test tube
• test tube holder or 

wooden clothes peg

• clay pot

Only very reactive metals react rapidly with water. Magnesium 
is the most reactive metal that you have. 
Put 2cm of shiny magnesium strip into a clean dry test tube and 
add 2cm of water. Magnesium is a shiny metal. The strip you have 
may have reacted with impurities in air and have a black surface. 
Clean this off with some fine emery or sand paper to show the 
clean shiny surface.
Add a piece of clay pot, briefly boil the water and look carefully at 
the magnesium. What do you see? If you see nothing happening, 
boil the solution again and be patient.

Experiment 6.3

The reaction of iron with an acid

• iron filings
• sodium hydrogen 

sulphate solution

• 2 test tubes
• funnel
• filter paper
• crystallising dish

Repeat Experiment 6.2 using 1 measure of iron filings instead of the 
zinc. The crystals that you obtain are a mixture of sodium sulphate 
and iron sulphate.
Write a word equation for this reaction.

Experiment 6.4

The reactions of aluminium & copper with an acid

• aluminium foil
• copper foil
• sodium hydrogen 

sulphate solution

• test tube
• test tube holder or 

wooden clothes peg

• clay pot

Cut a 2cm square piece of aluminium foil into small pieces and put 
them into a clean dry test tube. Add 2cm of your sodium hydrogen 
sulphate solution. Add a piece of clay pot. Carefully boil the solution 
and look at it very carefully. What do you see? If you do not see any 
reaction heat the test tube again and be patient.
Repeat the experiment with a 1cm square of copper foil instead 
of aluminium foil. Again look carefully. What do you see?

You have now studied the reactions of acids with 5 metals: 
aluminium, copper, iron, magnesium and zinc. Put these metals 
in the order of their reactivity with acid.

Chapter 6 - Chemical reactions of acids and alkalis 

6a - Reactions of acids with metals

Chapter 6 - Chemical reactions of acids and alkalis 

6b - Reactions of alkalies & water with metals

Only the most reactive metals react with alkalis and with water.

Summary of Contents for Chemistry Lab

Page 1: ...s Keep small children and animals away from experiments Keep the experimental set out of reach of children under 10 years old Eye protection for supervising adults is not included Functional sharp points and edges cut and puncture wound hazard Dispose of unwanted chemicals by greatly diluting with water and running into the waste water system For chemicals labelled as hazardous to the environment ...

Page 2: ...ntents of the Chemistry Lab Equipment CAUTION Contains some chemicals that are classified as a safety hazard CHEMICAL RISK Ammonium Chloride Harmful if swallowed Causes serious eye irritation CHEMICAL RISK Magnesium Sulphate Not hazardous Potassium Iodide Not hazardous Sodium Sulphate Not hazardous Sodium Thiosulphate Not hazardous Sodium Carbonate Causes serious eye irritation Sodium Hydrogen Sul...

Page 3: ...ould discuss the warnings and safety information with the child or children before commencing the experiments Particular attention should be paid to the safe handling of acids alkalies and flammable liquids f The area surrounding the experiment should be kept clear of any obstruction and away from the storage of food It should be well lit and ventilated and close to a water supply A solid table wi...

Page 4: ...r home and in the world around you Chemistry is a very important science because everything in the Universe is made of chemical substances You the water you drink the air your breathe the food you eat the hills you climb are all chemical substances All chemical substances are made from about 100 elements You for example are a very complicated mixture of chemicals but 98 of you is just 6 of these 1...

Page 5: ...set up your laboratory work space in a well lit and ventilated room with if possible a heat resistant surface to work on You will soon discover that an experimental chemist spends a lot of time washing dirty equipment so a close supply of running water or a large container to hold waste water is essential For most people the kitchen is the best place to set up your laboratory You also need a clean...

Page 6: ...r purpose if you get an adult to heat a needle held in a pair of pliers in your Spirit Burner flame and melt a small hole through the centre of the top of the cap Then click shut the top of the cap and squirt the water out of this fine hole continued SAFETY TIP Using the Spirit Burner You can extinguish the burner flame by blowing it out but a good tip to follow is to have a heat proof drinking gl...

Page 7: ...ts with several pieces of kitchen roll and throw it away Wash your hands under running water when you have cleared up One of the trickiest tasks you will have to do is to push the glass tubing into a cork It is very very easy to break the tubing and cut your hand when doing this so take great care TIP A Hand Sprayer A small 1 pint garden or indoor plant sprayer that is readily available at Garden ...

Page 8: ...ush or cotton buds A pencil A small mirror or piece of glass Writing paper preferably unglazed 2 tea towels A kitchen roll A roll of sellotape A pair of scissors A pair of tweezers or small pliers 5 small nails A wooden clothes peg very useful as a test tube holder A small saucepan An old cup or mug An egg cup A small plate DO NOT RE USE cutlery plates glasses or mugs etc used in experiments for d...

Page 9: ...ent heat it very gently DANGER The spoon will be VERY HOT put it on the tin tray holding the burner and wait for it to cool down Before doing any of the experiments read and understand the two earlier sections in this Booklet on Safety Matters and Your Chemistry Laboratory Collect together the Additional Equipment and Chemicals listed earlier For many experiments you will need some small pieces of...

Page 10: ...lace the funnel and filter paper into the mouth of a test tube and pour the solution and pepper into it The liquid filtrate passes through the fine holes in the filter paper into the test tube leaving the pepper stuck onto the filter paper To recover clean and dry pepper move the funnel into another test tube and gently wash the pepper with water Then carefully lift the filter paper out of the fun...

Page 11: ...own iodine will be formed Add water until the test tube is half full Carefully pour this solution into a bottle Label it Iodine Solution THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT Experiment 2 1 Invisible ink from a lemon a lemon crystallising dish artist s paint brush or a cotton bud writing paper Squeeze a lemon and pour some juice into a crystallising dish Use the paint brush or a cotton bud to write on a piece of...

Page 12: ...ution until it just boils and pour it into a crystallising dish leaving any residue in the test tube Put the crystallising dish somewhere warm for several days until all the water has evaporated away If possible prop up one side of the crystallising dish say with a pencil so the solution is not spread too thinly over the bottom of the dish Sodium sulphate crystals will be left in the crystallising...

Page 13: ...ate crystals magnesium sulphate beaker test tube small saucepan glass container There is a sample of magnesium sulphate in the Chemistry Lab but to carry out this experiment you will need to buy more It is sold as Epsom Salts Magnesium sulphate has this name because it is an important chemical in drinking water that was first found in spring water at Epsom in Surrey over 300 years ago in 1695 Put ...

Page 14: ...r lab to carry out this experiment Before you can carry out this experiment you need to buy more aluminium potassium sulphate or copper sulphate from a chemical supplier To grow really large crystals you need to suspend a small one known as the seed crystal in a saturated solution of the chemical and let the water slowly evaporate away As it does so the chemical will grow as one large crystal on t...

Page 15: ...gnesium sulphate into a clean dry test tube Heat the solid in the burner flame and look carefully at what happens Do you see any water vapour coming off from the magnesium sulphate and condensing on the cool upper parts of the test tube This water is part of the magnesium sulphate crystal It is called water of crystallisation Record in your notebook that magnesium sulphate contains water of crysta...

Page 16: ...ion Put 3 measures of sodium carbonate and 3 measures of calcium hydroxide in a clean conical flask Add a test tube full of water and gently shake and heat the flask over the burner for about 5 minutes As the flask will get hot you need to make a holder for it Do this by cutting an A4 sheet of paper in half to give a piece 15cm x 21cm and then folding this over 3 times to form a strip about 2cm x ...

Page 17: ...e substance that gives red cabbage its colour is an indicator Chop up a little red cabbage and gently boil it in water for 10 minutes or so Let the deep purple water cool and pour some into your beaker Dissolve measure of citric acid in 2cm of water in a test tube and pour it into the conical flask Add 1cm of red cabbage water What colour is the solution Add 2cm of your sodium hydroxide solution W...

Page 18: ...um potassium sulphate iron sulphate test tubes dropping pipette white plate Chemists often need to test for acids or alkalis and indicators that have been soaked onto filter paper and dried are usually used The most useful is called universal indicator paper This indicator not only shows the presence of an acid or alkali but also shows its strength The colour of the universal indicator changes fro...

Page 19: ...nto a crystallising dish and let the water evaporate off in a warm place leaving a mixture of sodium sulphate and zinc sulphate crystals Experiment 5 12 Neutralisation of an acid with an alkali using universal indicator universal indicator paper citric acid sodium hydrogen carbonate sodium bicarbonate sodium hydrogen sulphate solution sodium carbonate solution 2 test tubes conical flask 2 crystall...

Page 20: ...at the magnesium What do you see If you see nothing happening boil the solution again and be patient Experiment 6 3 The reaction of iron with an acid iron filings sodium hydrogen sulphate solution 2 test tubes funnel filter paper crystallising dish Repeat Experiment 6 2 using 1 measure of iron filings instead of the zinc The crystals that you obtain are a mixture of sodium sulphate and iron sulpha...

Page 21: ...st tube and add 2cm of your sodium hydrogen sulphate solution Add 2 small pieces of clay pot Boil the solution carefully holding the tube in a test tube holder or a wooden clothes peg The clay pot will help the solution to boil smoothly but it can still spit and spurt out WEAR YOUR GOGGLES and ensure that the test tube is not pointing at anyone Boil the solution for about 5 minutes adding more wat...

Page 22: ...sulphate copper magnesium sulphate Experiment 7 4 The formation of iron hydroxides iron sulphate sodium hydroxide solution 2 test tubes funnel filter paper Dissolve measure of iron sulphate in 1cm of water in a test tube Add 2cm of sodium hydroxide solution A precipitate of iron II hydroxide is formed What colour is it Filter off this precipitate Open up the filter paper and leave it for an hour o...

Page 23: ...il Add a piece of clay pot gently boil the solution and then remove the test tube from the flame Look very carefully at the contents of the test tube and describe what you see Leave the tube for an hour or so Has the blue colour of the copper sulphate disappeared What has been formed Write a word equation for the reaction that has happened here See if you can recover any aluminium sulphate crystal...

Page 24: ... then red Carbon dioxide has been shown to be an acid Experiment 8 6 Heating copper carbonate copper carbonate small evaporating spoon In Experiment 7 1 you made a sample of copper carbonate Put the copper carbonate on the small metal evaporating spoon and heat it over the burner flame Describe what happens What colour is the residue in the spoon Look back at Experiment 6 7 to see if this contains...

Page 25: ... of aluminium foil and fold it round a lolly stick to make a packet Let the end of the foil extend over the end of the stick and fold it over to make a sealed bottom Put a piece of sellotape on the foil edge to hold the packet together and slide it off the lolly stick It should be about 3 cm long Continued Experiment 9 4 To identify the gas in sparkling water first experiment sparkling water unive...

Page 26: ...under the funnel Continue heating for about 10 minutes when there should be no further change in the test tube Remove the test tube from the flame put the HOT test tube on the tin tray and the funnel from the water Pour the ammonia solution from the beaker into a test tube and put a plastic cap on it Label the tube and store it safely Experiment 9 7 The reaction of carbonates with acid continued C...

Page 27: ...glow increases and the wood relights You will use this glowing splint in the next experiment Experiment 9 11 The reaction of copper sulphate with ammonia copper sulphate ammonia solution test tube dropping pipette Put measure of copper sulphate into a clean dry test tube and add a very small amount of water about cm Warm the tube to dissolve the copper sulphate and let it cool Add ammonia solution...

Page 28: ...ygen hydrogen peroxide solution iron sulphate test tube dropping pipette Iron in an iron II compound gets oxidised to iron III when it is treated with hydrogen peroxide Mix measure of iron sulphate with 2cm of water in a test tube Add a few drops of hydrogen peroxide solution with the dropping pipette and gently warm the solution What happens Are the colour changes the same as in Experiment 9 12 E...

Page 29: ...ent 2 4 an invisible message written with starch solution turned blue when dipped in iodine solution The formation this blue colour with starch is a very sensitive test for iodine Add 4 drops of iodine with the dropping pipette to a test tube of water followed by 4 drops of starch solution Use laundry spray starch see Experiment 2 4 or the starch solution prepared in the next experiment The soluti...

Page 30: ...ing spoon and heat it over the burner flame until nothing further happens Put the HOT SPOON in the tin lid to cool Describe what happens The black residue left in the spoon is carbon This is because sugar contains a lot of carbon In Experiments 8 7 and 8 8 you heated tartaric and citric acids These are similar to sugar but contain less carbon Was there any carbon residue left when they were heated...

Page 31: ...supplied with this Chemistry Lab Experiment 11 6 Testing for sucrose sugar Fehling s solution 2 test tubes test tube holder or wooden clothes peg clay pot The sugar that we are familiar with is sucrose Repeat Experiment 11 5 replacing the 1cm of Golden Syrup solution with 1 measure of sugar dissolved in 1cm of water in a test tube What happens this time when you boil the solution Nothing happens b...

Page 32: ... pour it carefully into the glass container It should almost fill it When the syrup is cool enough to handle move the container to a place where you can easily see it Cover it with a piece of kitchen roll to keep out dust flies etc Leave for 2 or 3 days by which time there should be some sugar crystals on the bottom and maybe floating on the top of the container If none have formed put a sprinkle ...

Page 33: ...tion and blue in alkali solution Turmeric is yellow in acid solution and orange in alkaline solution 5 9 1 strong acid 2 weak or strong alkali 3 strong alkali 4 strong alkali 5 weak acid 6 weak or strong acid 7 weak or strong acid 8 weak alkali 9 weak acid 10 weak acid 5 10 1 Lemon juice is a weak acid It contain citric acid 2 Vinegar is a weak acid It contains ethanoic acid 3 Sparkling water is a...

Page 34: ... that carbon dioxide gas is being expelled from the sparkling water In Experiment 9 4 the indicator is put into the solution In this experiment the carbon dioxide gas is boiled out Other acids that might have been added to the fizzy soft drink do not boil out of the solution and so do not spoil this experiment 9 6 The lime water goes milky showing that carbon dioxide is produced in the flame The b...

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