TYPES OF CHEMICAL REACTIONS

Corleto, Mary Ann1 De Guzman, Caselyn1 Deang, Astrid Jireh1 Javier, Jonard Samuel Rosauro1 Rillorta, Bryan1 Department of Physical Sciences, College of Science, University of the Philippines Baguio

ABSTRACT The experiment was executed so that the physical evidences of different types of chemical reactions were observed, to validate the Law of Conservation of Mass, and to perform basic laboratory operations properly. To achieve these objectives, a copper metal was dissolved using nitric acid and was added with sodium hydroxide. This solution was heated and added with sulfuric acid. Zinc powder is gradually added and a test of completeness was performed. Excess zinc powder was dissolved by hydrochloric acid and the solution was filtered and set to dry. The yield has the same brown color and mass as that of the metal, but powder in texture. Through several chemical reactions performed, the Law of Conservation of Mass is confirmed. INTRODUCTION A chemical reaction is a process that leads to the transformation of one set of chemical substances to another.1 A chemical reaction is represented by chemical equations.2 In chemical reactions; the reactants are the substances that undergo chemical reactions while the products are the resulting substances. For the experiment, the goal is to transform solid copper to another substance, facilitate chemical reactions, and obtain a solid copper again. The importance of this study is to familiarize with the different types of chemical reactions that take place. There are three objectives to this experiment: To take note of any physical evidence of a chemical reaction taking place such as formation of precipitate, change on

color of the solution and formation of gas bubbles; to perform laboratory operations such as transferring of liquids, filtration, decantation, washing and transferring of precipitates and testing for completeness of a reaction while taking precautionary measures in handling concentrated acids and bases, and; to emphasize the need of gradual mixing of reactants and proper washing to ensure the purity of the product. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Table 1: Reaction of Copper with Nitric Acid and Copper Nitrate with Sodium Hydroxide Observation: Precipitation of Copper(II) Hydroxide Color of the Light Blue precipitate Copper (dissolve) + Composition of Nitric acid + the supernate sodium hydroxide + distilled H2O

Reactions Equations

Cu(s) + 4HNO3(aq) Cu(N03)2(aq) + 2NO2(g) + 2H2O(l) Cu(NO3)2(aq) + 2NaOH(aq) Cu(OH)2(s) + 2NaNO3(aq)

Copper metal is a stronger reducing agent than hydrogen so it will not reduce H+ to H2 and is not generally soluble in acid. It is inert to most acids because copper is not oxidized by H+. Nitric acid, HNO3 (aq), is able to dissolve copper metal because nitrate, NO3-, is a powerful oxidizing agent. In nitric acid, copper metal is oxidized which loses two electrons to form Cu+2 ions which then are soluble in the water solvent giving the solution a distinctive blue color. There is a corresponding reduction whenever oxidation occurs (eq. 1) that is the electron lost by a copper must be passed to other atom/s. In this case the nitrogen of nitric acid is reduced from NO3-, with an oxidation number of +6, to nitrogen dioxide, NO2(g), which has an oxidation number of +4, a gain of two electrons. Nitrogen dioxide is a harmful brown gas that will readily react with

biological tissues such as skin and lungs and therefore should be avoided that is why this step of the experiment is performed in the fume hood. Once copper is oxidized to copper (II) ions it forms soluble, aqueous copper (II) nitrate (eq. 1). The light blue copper nitrate solution is acidic due to the presence of excess nitric acid. Sodium hydroxide, a strong base, is added to neutralize the acid. Litmus paper is used to test the basicity of the solution. Addition of excess sodium hydroxide solution allows a double displacement reaction, also called metathesis reaction, to occur as the copper (II) ions react with hydroxide ions to produce insoluble, dark blue copper (II) hydroxide (see eq. 2). The other product of this reaction, sodium nitrate, is soluble in water and thus stays in solution. Table 2: Reaction of Copper (II) Hydroxide upon Heating Observation: Formation of copper (II) oxide Cu(OH)2 Before heating After heating Color Light Blue Black Cu(OH)2(s) CuO(s) + H2O(g)

Reactions Equations

The blue copper (II) hydroxide decomposes upon heating to form black copper (II) oxide and water vapor (eq. 3). Note that the copper is still in the form of Cu+2, that is, it has not undergone oxidation or reduction. It undergoes combustion type of chemical reaction. Table 3. Reaction for the Formation of Copper (II) Sulfate Observation: Conversion of Copper (II) Oxide to

Reactions Equations

Copper (II) Sulfate CuO Before adding 6ml 6M H2SO4 After adding 6ml 6M H2SO4 Color Black Light Green CuO(s) + H2SO4(aq) CuSO4(aq) + H2O(l)

Copper (II) oxide will dissolve in sulfuric acid to form a light green solution containing Cu+2 and sulfate ions as described by equation 4. It undergoes double replacement type of chemical reaction. Table 4: Reaction of adding Zinc Powder and HCl on Copper (II) Sulfate Observation: Reduction of Cu(II) to metallic copper CuSO4 Color Without Zn Light Green powder After adding Zn Rusty Gray powder Colorless with Rusty Brown precipitate

Reactions Equations

Cu+2(aq) + Zn(s) Cu(s) + Zn+2(aq) Zn(s) + 2HCl(aq) ZnCl2(aq) + H2(g)

The addition of zinc metal to the copper (II) sulfate solution formed results in a replacement reaction in which zinc metal is oxidized to zinc ions and the copper (II) ions in the solution are reduced to copper metal as shown in equation 5. The zinc was added gradually to the solution because if it was added all at once it was enough to make it too hot to hold the beaker with just bare hands since adding zinc to copper (II) sulfate was exothermic. Afterwards, 2-3 drops of solution is added to concentrated ammonia, NH3, to test for the completeness of the reaction of the copper (II) sulfate and the zinc. The

appearance of blue color in ammonia means that the reaction of Zn metal to copper (II) sulfate is not completed. In order to determine the mass of copper metal produced, it is essential that there be no zinc metal present. Any excess zinc metal can then be removed by adding hydrochloric acid producing soluble zinc chloride and hydrogen gas (see eq. 6). Remember that copper metal is insoluble in acid thus it will not react to HCl.

Amount of Copper Dissolved copper filter paper Recovered copper filter paper + Cu(s) Cu(s)

0.2 grams 0.2 grams 0.4 grams 0.6 grams 0.2 grams

Since copper is insoluble to HCl, it is filtered using filter paper and air-dried. It is not advisable to dry the copper directly to the Bunsen burner since it can form oxides of copper when heated in presence of oxygen or air. This can make the copper contaminated. The amount of copper recovered is 100 % of the dissolved copper using nitric acid but in powdered form. Also, the color of the powdered copper recovered is the same as that of the solid copper metal. This does not refute the Law of Conservation of Mass since it states that mass can neither be created nor destroyed, but it can be transformed into other forms. All the atoms present before the reaction is present after the reaction, and the total mass of the system did not change as the result of chemical reactions SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

The Copper reacted with Nitric Acid to form Copper (II) Nitrate, a light blue substance. Copper (II) Nitrate then reacted with Sodium Hydroxide and a blue precipitate, Copper (II) Hydroxide was obtained. When the solution was heated, the blue precipitate was converted to black Copper (II) Oxide. When Sulfuric Acid was added to the black precipitate, Copper (II) Sulfate was formed. Powdered Zinc then was added to the Copper (II) Sulfate solution and particles of copper metal started to form, together with bubbles of hydrogen gas. To determine if the reaction was complete, the solution was tested if it would react with concentrated ammonia. When the reaction was complete (no more blue color appeared), Hydrochloric Acid was added to the solution to remove the excess Zinc in the mixture (metallic copper does not react with ), the

result was of a rustic color liquid with solid copper particles at the bottom. At the end of the experiment, the mass of the copper obtained after going through various types of chemical reactions was the same as its original mass, 0.1g, which gave a 100% yield. A hundred percent yield does not mean a perfect experiment. During the experiment, there are many possible sources of errors that were observed. Contamination could be possible; the reactants will then not react completely and so it will not give the desired amount of the product at the end. It is also possible that not all the reactants were collected properly and again, lessening the total amount of product. The hydrochloric acid may not have reacted with the zinc completely, consequently being weighed with the copper obtained after the experiment. These are the important factors that should be considered after obtaining the mass of the copper at the end of the experiment.

Different types of chemical reactions occurred during the experiment and through these chemical reactions, the Law of Conservation of Mass was proven right. LITERATURE CITED
1

IUPAC, Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. (the "Gold Book") (1997). T. Brown, et al. 2012. Chemistry The Central Science. Pearson Prentice Hall, p. 78

http://www.slcc-science.org/chem/labs/chem1215/labs/1215ExpIX.pdf, April 12, 2014 APPENDIX

Percent Yield:

= 100% yield