MHS Chemistry
Chemical Reactions
Reaction 04
1. Obtain a small piece of zinc metal. Record the appearance of zinc metal.
2. Obtain about 30 mL of hydrochloric acid in a 50 mL Erlenmeyer flask. Hydrochloric acid is actually hydrogen chloride (which is a gas) dissolved in water. Write the formula for hydrochloric acid (hydrogen chloride):
3. Think about the last time you went to an indoor swimming pool, on a hot day, and what it smelled like and what it felt like to breathe. What gas was that?
4. Drop your piece of zinc into the flask, and immediately cover it with a large test tube (held upside down). Record your observations of the change.
5. Use a barbecue lighter to put a spark up in the test tube. What happens? Based on the reaction, what gas had been produced?
6. Which element in hydrochloric acid is more likely to form a compound with zinc? Why?
7. Write the skeleton equation for the reaction of zinc metal with hydrochloric acid.*
8. Write the balanced chemical equation for the reaction of zinc metal with hydrochloric acid:
9. What type of reaction was this? (Synthesis, etc)
* There are seven elements that occur naturally in the diatomic form: Hydrogen, Oxygen, Fluorine, Bromine, Iodine, Nitrogen, and Chlorine. These are each written when pure to match the example: N2. You can remember them by thinking the word "HOFBrINCl" to yourself.