6. Reactions
This is an example of a combustion reaction, where methane gas in the bubbles, in combination with oxygen from the surrounding air, reacted to form carbon dioxide and water. All combustion reactions have these products.
This is an example of decomposition, where table sugar breaks down to form water and caramel. Normally this reaction takes much more time, but with the introduction of acid as a catalyst, it only takes a few minutes.
This reaction was designed to prove that in order to light the methane off, you need oxygen to mix with it. In order to accomplish this we had to wait for the oxygen from the surrounding air to mix with the methane inside the can. This completes one side of the reaction allowing the explosion to happen.
Pictured is a demonstration of Magnesium reacting with hydrochloric acid. Specifically this is a single replacement reaction where the reactants switch a specific structure between eachother.
We were a bit short on time this class period, so I do not know the reactants of this reaction. However one way to obtain similar results to this demonstration is to use a pH indicator, where a simple acid changes the color of the water to red. Neutralizing this acid through a reaction results in the color changing from red back to clear "water".
This is an ICE table, or Initial Change End table. We used it to find the mass (or moles) of products and reactants in a chemical reaction.
Since this was the last chapter we took on, it combined pretty much everything from the previous lessons. I had learned the types of reactions, Synthesis, Decomposition, Combustion and Single and Double replacement before, but going into Stoichiometry was new for me. Using the ICE or Initial Change End Table definitely helped. Balancing reactions also was review, but was fun to combine with the ICE table to answer AP questions. I feel confident moving forward, but I still wonder how one finds the products of a reaction.