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Chemical Reactions
Faculty Resource and Organizational Guide (FROG)
Table of Contents
Materials for Chapter 6 Activities................................................................................................4
Reagents for Chapter 6 Activities: ...............................................................................................5
Section 6.1. Classifying Chemical Reactions ..............................................................................7
Learning objectives for Section 6.1: ............................................................................................7
Consider This 6.1. What chemical reactions do you know?.......................................................7
Investigate This 6.2. What changes do you observe? .................................................................7
Investigate This 6.3. How can you analyze the gas from a reaction?.........................................9
Consider This 6.4. What is the gas from the NaHCO3 + KHC4H5O6 reaction? .......................11
Consider This 6.5. How can you classify chemical reactions?.................................................11
Section 6.2. Ionic Precipitation Reactions.................................................................................12
Learning Objectives for Section 6.2: .........................................................................................12
Investigate This 6.6. How can you find the stoichiometry of a precipitate? ............................12
Consider This 6.7. What is the stoichiometry of the calcium oxalate precipitate?...................14
Consider This 6.8. Does ionic precipitation fit the definition of a chemical reaction? ............15
Sample Worksheet for Section 6.2: ...........................................................................................15
Section 6.3. Lewis Acids and Bases: Definition .......................................................................17
Learning Objectives for Section 6.3: .........................................................................................17
Consider This 6.12. How do ionic precipitation and Lewis acid-base reactions differ? ..........17
Section 6.4. Lewis Acids and Bases: Bronsted-Lowry Acid-Base Reactions .........................17
Learning Objectives for Section 6.4: .........................................................................................17
Investigate This 6.13. Do the acidities of acids differ?.............................................................18
Consider This 6.14. How do the acidities of acids differ?........................................................19
Consider This 6.17. What is the molecular level interpretation of expression (6.11)?.............19
Section 6.5. Predicting Strengths of Lewis/Bronsted-Lowry Bases and Acids......................20
Learning Objectives for Section 6.5 ..........................................................................................20
Consider This 6.27. Is electronegativity a reliable predictor of Lewis acid-base strength? .....20
Consider This 6.28. Does electronegativity or size dominate Lewis acid-base strength?........21
Investigate This 6.30. Do the acidities of alcohols and carboxylic acids differ?......................22
Consider This 6.31. How do the acidities of alcohols and carboxylic acids differ?.................24
Consider This 6.34. How can you explain the relative acidities of the chlorine oxyacids? .....24
Consider This 6.37. How do oxyacids/oxyanions of different central atoms compare? ..........26
Section 6.6. Lewis Acids and Bases: Metal Ion Complexes.....................................................27
Learning Objectives for Section 6.6 ..........................................................................................27
Investigate This 6.41. Do Lewis bases react with metal ion?...................................................27
Consider This 6.42. How do you know a Lewis acid-base complex ion has reacted? .............28
Investigate This 6.43. Do calcium ions react with complexing ligands? .................................30
Consider This 6.44. Do calcium ions react with complexing ligands?.....................................31
Investigate This 6.45. What is the three-dimensional structure of EDTA? ..............................32
Chapter 6
Chemical Reactions
Chemical Reactions
Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Chemical Reactions
Material
Total Quantity
6.2
6.2, 6.3
Hot plate
6.3
6.3
Test tubes
1-3
6.6
6.6
Centrifuge
6.6
Graduated pipets
A few.
6.13, 6.30
2-5
6.43, 6.98
6.45
Model kit
6.50
6.50
Water bath
6.66
400-mL beaker
6.66
100-mL beaker
6.66
6.66
6.80
Small flask
Chemical Reactions
Chapter 6
Reagents
Total Quantity
6.2
Dried yeast
2 tsp
6.2
Glucose
1 tsp
6.2, 6.3
Potassium hydrogen
tartrate, KHC4H5O6
1 tsp
6.2
1 tsp
6.2, 6.3
Sodium hydrogen
carbonate, NaHCO3
2 tsp
6.2, 6.3
Water
6.3
Limewater [saturated
Ca(OH)2 solution]
50 mL
6.6, 6.43
6.6, 6.43
6.13
6.13
6.13
6.13, 6.30
6.30
0.1 M ethanol
6.41
6.41
1 M ammonia, NH3
6.43
6.43
0.1 M EDTA
6.50
Salicylic acid
4g
6.50
Methanol
10 mL
Chapter 6
Chemical Reactions
6.50
4 drops
6.50
2 mL
6.62
6.62
6.62,6.66
2-3 cm length
6.62
2-3 cm length
6.66, 6.86
5 mL
6.66
Concentrated Hydrochloric
acid, HCl
5 mL
6.80
6.80
10 g in 50 mL water
6.80
Household bleach
Few drops
6.86
1 g in 10 mL water
6.86
1 g in 10 mL water
6.86
Ammonia, NH3
Dilute concentrated
ammonia 1:10 with water
6.86
6.86
5-10% formaldehyde in
water
Few drops
6.92
6.92
6.98
6.98
0.0050 M iodine
Chemical Reactions
Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Chemical Reactions
1
tsp dried yeast
4
tsp NaHCO3 +
tsp KHC4H5O6
Place the beakers on paper or plastic plates, in case they spill over.
To each beaker, add about 40 mL of warm (45-55 C) water and swirl to mix the ingredients.
Observe the beakers for about two minutes and record any evidence of change(s) occurring.
If there is no apparent change in one or more of the beakers, wait for a few minutes and check
them again.
Continue this checking until you are convinced no change is going to occur. The reaction of
yeast and sugar produces a great deal of bubbling foam, but does not occur immediately.
Warm water is used in the investigation to decrease the amount of the induction period before
this reaction becomes apparent.
Anticipated results:
Set up before addition of water:
Chemical Reactions
Chapter 6
Results after sufficient time for the yeast-sugar mixture (2) to begin reaction. The evolution of
Disposal:
Wash down the drain with copious amounts of water.
Follow-up discussion:
Reactions (2), (3), and (4) all produce the same gas, carbon dioxide. To analyze this gas,
conduct Investigate This 6.3 first before further discussing the reactions.
The reactions are:
(2) C6H12O6(aq) + (yeast) 2CH3CH2OH(l) + 2CO2(g)
(3) Ca2+(aq) + 2HCO3(aq) CaCO3(s) + CO2(g) + H2O(l)
(4) HC4H3O6(aq) + HCO3(aq) C4H3O62(aq) + CO2(g) + H2O(l)
Follow-up activities:
Investigate This 6.3. How can you analyze the gas from the NaHCO3 + KHC4H5O6 reaction?
End of chapter problems 6.1 through 6.4.
Investigate This 6.3. How can you analyze the gas from a reaction?
Goal:
Determine whether the gas from reaction (4) in Investigate This 6.2 produces a precipitate when
bubbled into limewater.
Set-up time:
Approximately 15 minutes.
Time for activity:
10-15 minutes (including discussion).
Materials:
250-mL filter flask with stopper.
Rubber tubing.
Test tube.
Appropriate ring stands and clamps.
1 tsp measuring spoon or equivalent for dispensing the solid reagents.
Hot plate for warming water. (Warm water is unnecessary for this activity, but can be used to
mimic the conditions in the fourth reaction in Investigate This 6.2.)
Reagents:
Sodium hydrogen carbonate, NaHCO3.
Potassium hydrogen tartrate, KHC4H5O6.
Limewater (saturated solutions of Ca(OH)2).
Water heated to 45-55 C. (Warm water is unnecessary for this activity, but can be used to
mimic the conditions in the fourth reaction in Investigate This 6.2.)
Chapter 6
Chemical Reactions
Procedure:
SAFETY NOTE
Wear safety goggles
Conduct as a class investigation with student volunteers, but have students work in small
Results after water has been added to the reaction flask and a close-up of the test tube of
NOTE: The CaCO3(s) formed in the test tube may begin to dissolve if a small amount of
limewater is used and a large volume of CO2 is produced. It is unlikely that enough will
dissolve to be noticeable in a few minutes. (See Investigate This 2.89, Chapter 2, Section 2.16,
pp. 138-139.
Disposal:
Wash down the drain with copious amounts of water.
Follow-up discussion:
Use Consider This 6.4 to initiate discussion the results of this activity.
Follow-up activities:
Consider This 6.5. How can you classify chemical reactions?
10
Chemical Reactions
Chapter 6
Consider This 6.4. What is the gas from the NaHCO3 + KHC4H5O6 reaction?
Goal:
Based upon their observation of the precipitate formation in Investigate This 6.3, determine that
the gas formed is CO2.
Classroom options:
Allow 3-5 minutes for students, working in small groups, to complete this activity. Then, the
instructor can lead the discussion, summarizing answers on the chalkboard or an overhead
transparency or have students do so.
This activity can be conducted as an open class discussion.
Time for activity:
Approximately 10 minutes.
Instructor notes:
If necessary, review limewater reactions from Chapter 2, Section 2.16.
Students should reason and conclude:
(a) When the gas bubbled through the limewater solution, a white precipitate formed. In
Investigate This 2.89, we found that a white precipitate of CaCO3(s) was formed when
CO2(g) was bubbled into limewater. We can probably conclude that the gas from the reaction
in Investigate This 6.3 is CO2(g), because a white precipitate is formed when the gas bubbles
into limewater.
(b) In Chapter 2, Section 2.14, we found that a compound that can transfer a proton to the
hydrogen carbonate anion, HCO3(aq), produces carbonic acid, H2CO3(aq), reaction (2.29).
The H2CO3(aq) can dissociate to water and carbon dioxide CO2(g), which bubbles out of the
solution, reaction (2.30). The hydrogen tartrate anion, HC4H3O6(aq), can transfer a proton to
the hydrogen carbonate anion. The overall reaction forming CO2(g) is:
HC4H3O6(aq) + HCO3(aq) C4H3O62(aq) + CO2(g) + H2O(l)
Follow-up discussion:
Review the chemical reactions that occurred in Investigate This 6.2 and 6.3.
Follow-up activities:
Consider This 6.5. How can you classify chemical reactions?
End of chapter problems 6.1 through 6.4.
Consider This 6.5. How can you classify chemical reactions?
Goal:
Students discuss how to classify chemical reactions based upon previous completed activities in
this section.
Classroom options:
Allow 3-5 minutes for students, working in small groups, to complete this activity. Then, the
instructor can lead the discussion, summarizing answers on the chalkboard or an overhead
transparency or have students do so.
This activity can be conducted as an open class discussion.
Instructor notes:
Review outcomes from Consider This 6.1, Investigate This 6.2, Investigate This 6.3, and
Consider This 6.4. Consider having students lead the discussion.
Students should reason and conclude:
11
Chapter 6
Chemical Reactions
(a) It will probably be possible to classify the reactions into groups that have similar
properties and/or behaviors.
(b) Maybe, but we will almost certainly need more information on the molecular structures
of the reactants as well as an understanding of the polarity of the molecules.
Follow-up discussion:
Discuss the criteria for classifying chemical reactions.
(1) Center of a positive charge in one reactant molecule or ion is attracted to a center of
negative charge in another.
(2) Rearrangement of electrons and/or atoms to form products that are different from the
reactants.
Review the three broad classes of chemical reactions we will use: ionic precipitation, Lewis
acid-base, and oxidation-reduction.
Alternate Activity:
One approach is to illustrate each of the types of reactions with a demonstration at this
point, instead of waiting until later in the chapter. The reactions used by one faculty member
are:
(1) precipitation of calcium carbonate by reaction of sodium carbonate and calcium nitrate.
(2) synthesis of nylon from adipoyl chloride and 1,6-diaminohexane using interfacial
polymerization (the nylon rope trick) to illustrate Lewis acid-base reactions. The synthesis
of nylon polymers is a nice example of condensation polymerization, but should be done
with some care, since the reagents are relatively corrosive and the best methods use
chlorinated solvents that are generally suspect carcinogens. T. L. Bieber, J. Chem. Educ.
1979, 56, 409-410, gives a good discussion of the demonstration. G. C. East and S. Hassell,
J. Chem. Educ. 1983, 60, 69, suggest an alternative way to prepare the necessary acid
chloride(s) as needed.
(3) reduction of silver ion with copper metal.
Follow-up activities:
End of chapter problems 6.1 through 6.4.
12
Chemical Reactions
Chapter 6
Materials:
5 centrifuge tubes.
1 centrifuge to accommodate the tubes.
Graduated pipets (plastic pipets with a 1-mL graduated stem are adequate).
Reagents:
0.1 M Ca(NO3)2(aq) (or CaCl2)
0.1 M Na2C2O4(aq)
Procedure:
SAFETY NOTE
Wear safety goggles
Conduct this as a class investigation with student volunteers, but have students work in small
groups to discuss and analyze the results. It also can be completed in a laboratory or
discussion section.
Prepare the centrifuge tubes with the contents shown in this table:
tube number
calcium nitrate, mL
0.5
1.5
2.5
3.5
4.5
sodium oxalate, mL
4.5
3.5
2.5
1.5
0.5
Centrifuge the tubes for 1-2 minutes. Centrifuge time may vary depending on type of
centrifuge. If a centrifuge is not available, the tubes can be allowed to stand for 10-20 minutes
and then observed.
Anticipated results:
After centrifugation, the tubes look like this:
Disposal:
Place precipitates in a properly labeled waste container.
Follow-up discussion:
Use Consider This 6.7 to initiate discussion of the results of this activity.
Follow-up activities:
Consider This 6.8. Does ionic precipitation fit the definition of a chemical reaction?
Worked Example 6.9. Stoichiometric calculation for calcium oxalate formation.
Check This 6.10. Stoichiometric calculation for calcium oxalate formation.
End of chapter problems 6.5 through 6.9.
13
Chapter 6
Chemical Reactions
Consider This 6.7. What is the stoichiometry of the calcium oxalate precipitate?
Goal:
Based on their results from Investigate This 6.6, determine the stoichiometry of the calcium
oxalate precipitate.
Classroom options:
Allow 3-5 minutes for students, working in small groups, to complete this activity. Then, the
instructor can lead the discussion, summarizing answers on the chalkboard or an overhead
transparency or have students do so.
This activity can be conducted as an open class discussion.
This activity could also be assigned as a homework problem and then discussed at the next
class session.
Time for activity:
Approximately 10 minutes.
Instructor notes:
Make sure the class agrees on the observations from Investigate This 6.6.
Students should reason and conclude:
(a) The concentration of the reagents in each stock solution is the same, 0.1 M. The ratio of
the volume of the calcium cation solution to oxalate anion solution varies while the total
volume of the solution in each tube is the same. Thus the ratio of the number of moles of the
calcium cation to number of moles of oxalate anion varies from one tube to the next while
the total number of moles of the two reactants remains constant.
(b) The amount of precipitate is not the same in each tube. Tube 3 has the most precipitate
while tubes 1 and 5 have the least precipitate. Graphs should reflect the data. A bar graph is
probably easiest to draw, because the data themselves look like a bar graph.
(c) As you observe the differences in precipitate from tubes 1 through tube 5, the amount of
precipitate increases until tube 3 and then decreases. Tubes 1 and 5 contain about the same
amount of precipitate and tubes 2 and 4 contain about the same amount of precipitate. It
seems likely that amount of precipitate formed in each tube is related to the ratio of cation to
anion in each one. When the ratio is one-to-one, in tube 5, we get the largest amount of
precipitate, which makes sense if the net ionic reaction is:
Ca2+(aq) + C2O42-(aq) CaC2O4(s)
Follow-up discussion:
Point out that multiply-charged cations and anions often form relatively insoluble salts.
The attractions among multiply-charged cations and anions are stronger than the hydration
energy. The hydration energy simply cannot overcome the lattice energy.
Review the solubility rules listed in Table 6.1
Follow-up activities:
Consider This 6.8. Does ionic precipitation fit the definition of a chemical reaction?
Worked Example 6.9. Stoichiometric calculation for calcium oxalate formation.
Check This 6.10. Stoichiometric calculation for calcium oxalate formation.
Check This 6.11. Nickel-dimethylglyoxime reaction stoichiometry.
End of chapter problems 6.5 through 6.9.
14
Chemical Reactions
Chapter 6
Consider This 6.8. Does ionic precipitation fit the definition of a chemical reaction?
Goal:
Decide whether rearrangements of electrons and/or atoms (our definition of a chemical reaction)
occur in precipitation reactions
Classroom options:
Allow 3-5 minutes for students, working in small groups, to complete this activity. Then, the
instructor can lead the discussion, summarizing answers on the chalkboard or an overhead
transparency or have students do so.
This activity can be conducted as an open class discussion.
This activity could also be assigned as a homework problem and then discussed at the next
class session.
Time for activity:
Approximately 5-10 minutes.
Instructor notes:
Review results from Investigate This 6.6, including the net ionic equation [reaction (6.4)]:
Ca2+(aq) + C2O42(aq) CaC2O4(s)
Students should reason and conclude:
Reaction (6.4) does fit the description that chemical reactions involves rearrangements of
atoms and/or electrons to form products different than reactants, if we take into account the
attractions of the ions to water molecules that have to be broken in order for a precipitate to
form in which the attractions are among the ions themselves. Ca2+(aq) are attracted to C2O42
(aq) and visa versa. The lattice energy for forming CaC2O4(s) is stronger than the hydration
energy to keep these ions apart.
Follow-up discussion:
Discuss that the stoichiometry of the precipitate formed and, hence, the amount of precipitate
formed, is based on charge balance.
Use the discussion to lead to Worked Example 6.9 and the quantification of these
stoichiometric arguments.
Follow-up activities:
Worked Example 6.9. Stoichiometric calculation for calcium oxalate formation.
Check This 6.10. Stoichiometric calculation for calcium oxalate formation.
Check This 6.11. Nickel-dimethylglyoxime reaction stoichiometry.
End of chapter problems 6.5 through 6.10.
Sample Worksheet for Section 6.2:
This worksheet was contributed by Dr. Laura Eisen, The Mount Vernon College of George
Washington University, Washington, DC. It has been edited to conserve space, but no content
has been changed.
Chemistry 12, Section MV
Spring 2003
Background: A bicycle shop is making bicycles according to the following "equation":
1 frame + 2 wheels 1 bike [or F + 2 W B]
On 11 different days, the shop makes bikes, starting with different numbers of frames and
wheels, always keeping the sum of the # frames + # wheels constant. Complete the following
table, assuming that the shop makes the maximum number of bikes possible with the frames and
wheels that are available.
15
Chapter 6
Chemical Reactions
Day
10
11
# frames (F)
available
12
18
24
30
36
42
48
54
60
66
# wheels (W)
available
66
60
54
48
42
36
30
24
18
12
Total F + W
72
# bikes made
Unused
frames
Unused
wheels
54
"limiting"
component
10
11
# frames
6
available
12
18
24
30
36
42
48
54
60
66
# wheels
66
available
60
54
48
42
36
30
24
18
12
# bikes
made
12
18
16
14
12
10
What can you say about the bikes made in this shop? What is the recipe for the bikes made in
this shop? How do you know?
Do Check This 6.11, and End-of-Chapter problems 6.9 and 6.10.
In what way does the chemical problem differ from the bicycle problem? (Hint: Assume that
you have bikes made according to F + 2W B. If you have 10 frames and 19 wheels, how
many bikes can you make? Now assume that you have a chemical reaction that has the
following stoichiometry: A + 2B C. Assuming that the reaction goes to completion, how
many moles of C can you make if you start with 10 moles of A and 19 moles of B? Is there a
difference between the bicycle result and the chemical result? Why?)
16
Chemical Reactions
Chapter 6
17
Chapter 6
Chemical Reactions
Alternative procedures:
pH paper can be used to determine the approximate pH of the solutions. These pHs will be
fine for the purpose of these analyses.
Students can do the activity in small groups. Each group gets a beaker (or other container)
containing the reagents in small test tubes, pH paper, and a small stirring rod. Students place a
drop of solution from the stirring rod onto the pH paper. A scanned copy of the pH paper
color indicator chart is projected so the students can determine the pH of the solution.
Anticipated results:
Typical results look something like these:
Solution
H2O
HCl
NaCl
CH3C(O)OH
CH3C(O)ONa
pH
6.9
1.0
6.9
2.6
8.6
For the alternative procedure, the results might look like these. The pH paper is shown in the
solutions only for photographic purposes. pH paper should never be dipped in the solution to
be tested, but rather a drop of the solution transferred to the paper with a stirring rod (or
toothpick would work for these samples).
18
Chemical Reactions
Chapter 6
Disposal:
Rinse reagents down the drain with copious amounts of water.
Follow-up discussion:
Use Consider This 6.14 to initiate discussion of the results of this activity and lead to the
calculation of [H3O+] from pH.
Follow-up activities:
+
Check This 6.15. [H3O (aq)] in 0.1M ethanoic (acid) solution.
Check This 6.16. Fraction of ethanoic acid that transfers a proton to water.
19
Chapter 6
Chemical Reactions
Classroom options:
This activity can be conducted as an open class discussion, if facilities are available for
viewing the Web Companion in the classroom.
This activity could also be assigned as a homework problem and then discussed at the next
class session. The discussion is essential so you can try to be sure that the class correctly
interprets the symbolic equilibrium expression at the molecular level.
Instructor notes:
Students need to have access to the Web Companion, Chapter 6, Section 6.4, page 1, either in
the class or on their own (preferably both).
Students should reason and conclude:
The animation shows that proton transfer between water molecules can occur after ethanoic
acid donates a proton to a water molecule, the forward reaction in expression (6.11), forming
H3O+ and ethanoate ion. Since water molecules make up the vast majority of molecules in the
solution, transfer of a proton from this H3O+ ion to another water molecule is a likely event.
+
Transfer of a proton from a H3O to an ethanoate ion, the reverse reaction in expression
(6.11), can occur to form ethanoic acid and water.
The proton originally transferred from the ethanoic acid to water is unlikely to be the one that
is transferred from hydronium ion to an ethanoate ion to form ethanoic acid.
Although expression (6.11) is a representation of the molecular level processes of proton
transfer between molecules of ethanoic acid and water and hydronium ion and ethanoate ion,
it has to be interpreted in the context of all the other molecules in the system, which are not
shown explicitly in the expression, but among which proton transfers can occur. Any one of
the ethanoic acid molecules can transfer a proton to any one of the surrounding water
molecules and, in turn, any of the ethanoate anions formed in the solution can gain a proton
from any of the hydronium ions it comes near.
Follow-up activities:
Check This 6.18. [OH ] in an aqueous sodium amide solution.
Check This 6.19. Writing Lewis acid-base reactions.
Check This 6.21. Relative basicities of chloride and hydroxide ions.
Check This 6.23. Relative basicities of ethanoate (acetate) and hydroxide ions.
Check This 6.25. pH of an aminium (ammonia-like) chloride solution.
End of chapter problems 6.13 through 6.19.
20
Chemical Reactions
Chapter 6
21
Chapter 6
Chemical Reactions
This activity could also be assigned as a homework problem and then discussed at the next
class session, either in small groups initially or in open class discussion. The discussion is
important to be sure the class understands why size (and thus more spread out electrons) are
important in determining the acid-base strength.
Time for activity:
Approximately 10 minutes.
Instructor notes:
Show or direct students to the charge density models in Consider This 6.28.
Recall the order of basicity for the halide ions.
Students should reason and conclude:
(a) Assume that acid strength is directly proportional to electronegativity of the central atom.
Based on the electronegativities of the oxygen family elements, the relative order of acid
strength of the oxygen-family hydrides (from most to least acidic) is: H2O > H2S H2Se >
Electronegativity values generally decrease as one goes down a family, but Figure 4.33, page
257, shows that the electronegativities of S and Se are essentially the same, so we have made
their acidities about the same.
(b) Assume that acid strength is proportional to the size of the central atom. Based on the
sizes of the oxygen family elements, the relative order of acid strength of the oxygen-family
hydrides (from most to least acidic) is: H2Te > H2Se > H2S > H2O. The size of the atoms
generally increase down a family and Figure 4.32, page 256, seems to show this trend for the
oxygen family. Thus, H2Te and H2Se are the largest of the group and :TeH- and :SeH- are the
weakest Lewis bases and least attractive to a proton due to their relatively large size.
(c) H-OH and H-SH are found in Table 6.2. H-SH is more acidic than H-OH. Assuming that
this relative order persists down the family, the relative acid strengths (from most to least
acidic) is: H2Te > H2Se > H2S > H2O. The relative order of base strengths for the anions
(from least to most basic) is: :TeH < :HSe < :HS < :HO.
(d) We see that the probable experimental order of acidities (or basicities) in part (c) is the
same as the order predicted in part (b) on the basis of size. Size, not electronegativity,
dominates Lewis acid-base strength in hydrides of a family of the periodic table.
Follow-up activities:
Check This 6.29. Relative Lewis base strengths
End of chapter problems 6.20 through 6.25.
Investigate This 6.30. Do the acidities of alcohols and carboxylic acids differ?
Goal:
Measure the pH of ethanol and ethanoic acid solutions and reason from the results whether
alcohols and carboxylic acids differ in acidity.
Set-up time:
5-10 minutes (assuming reagents and buffers are prepared for standardizing the pH meter and
electrode).
Time for activity:
Less than 10 minutes.
Materials:
pH meter and combination electrode (or pH paper).
Small beakers/vials or well plate.
22
Chemical Reactions
Chapter 6
Reagents:
Distilled water
0.1 M ethanoic (acetic) acid.
0.1 M ethanol.
Procedure:
SAFETY NOTE
Wear safety goggles
Use a pH meter to determine the pH of the reagents listed above.
Alternative procedures:
pH paper can be used to determine the approximate pH of the solutions. These pHs will be
fine for the purpose of these analyses.
Students can do the activity in small groups. Each group gets a beaker (or other container)
containing the reagents in small test tubes, pH paper, and a small stirring rod. Students place a
drop of solution from the stirring rod onto the pH paper. A scanned copy of the pH paper
color indicator chart is projected so the students can determine the pH of the solution.
Anticipated results:
Typical results look something like these:
Solution
H2O
CH3C(O)OH
CH3CH2OH
pH
6.9
2.6
6.9
The pH of the ethanoic acid solution is lower than that for water. The pH of the ethanol
Disposal:
Rinse reagents down the drain with copious amounts of water.
Follow-up discussion:
Students should reason and conclude that the acidity of the alcohol is less than the acidity of
the acid. The pH of the acid solution is lower than the pH of water, because the acid is able to
transfer protons to water. The pH of the alcohol solution is the same as water, because the
alcohol apparently does not transfer protons to water.
Use Consider This 6.30 to initiate further discussion of the results of this activity.
Follow-up activities:
Check This 6.32. Relative basicities of ethanoate, ethoxide, and hydroxide anions.
Check This 6.33. Relative basicities of oxyanions and acidities of oxyacids.
ACS Chemistry FROG
23
Chapter 6
Chemical Reactions
Consider This 6.31. How do the acidities of alcohols and carboxylic acids differ?
Goal:
Based on the results of Investigate This 6.30, show that the transfer of a proton from ethanol to
water does not occur.
Classroom options:
Allow 3-5 minutes for students, working in small groups, to answer the questions. Then, the
instructor can lead the discussion, summarizing answers on the chalkboard or an overhead
transparency or have students do so.
This activity can be conducted as an open class discussion.
This activity could also be assigned as a homework problem and then discussed at the next
class session, either in small groups initially or in open class discussion.
Time for activity:
From less than 10 to 15 minutes, depending on how the discussion goes in terms of ranking of
acid and base strengths.
Instructor notes:
Be sure the class agrees on the results from Investigate This 6.30.
Display reactions (6.17), (6.19), and (6.27) so students can consider them in their discussions.
Students should reason and conclude:
(a) No detectable extra hydronium ion is formed in an ethanol solution compared to water
alone, so the results provide no evidence for reaction (6.27).
(b) Since the results show that ethanoic acid can transfer a proton to water, but ethanol does
not, we can conclude that the acid strengths (from strongest to weakest) are: ethanoic acid >
water ethanol. We set the water and ethanol about equal because there is also no evidence
that water can transfer a proton to ethanol, so they must be about matched in acid strength.
The base strengths of the anions derived from these acids are in the reverse order, since the
strongest acid will produce the weakest base. The base strengths of the anions (from weakest
to strongest) are: ethanoate anion < hydroxide anion ethoxide anion
Follow-up discussion:
Use the discussion to have students relate the reasoning here to that done in Section 6.4 in
terms of arguments based on the predominant species in the solution. Focus here on the
relative amounts of hydronium ion in the three solutions.
Follow-up activities:
Check This 6.32. Relative basicities of ethanoate, ethoxide, and hydroxide anions.
Check This 6.33. Relative basicities of oxyanions and acidities of oxyacids.
End of chapter problems 6.24 through 6.27.
Consider This 6.34. How can you explain the relative acidities of the chlorine oxyacids?
Goal:
Show that the relative strengths of the chlorine oxyacids parallel the number of equivalent
Lewis structures that can be written for the anions, and, hence, that electron delocalization in the
anions is responsible for the increasing acid strength of the oxyacids.
Classroom options:
Allow 3-5 minutes for students, working in small groups, to answer these questions. Then, the
instructor can lead the discussion, summarizing answers on the chalkboard or an overhead
transparency or have students do so.
24
Chemical Reactions
Chapter 6
NOTE: Some may wish to introduce resonance (or reinforce it, if you have introduced it
previously in Chapter 5) stabilization of the conjugate bases and perhaps encourage students to
explore Consider This 6.34 through Check This 6.36 on their own. Some of the generality of the
electron delocalization model (which includes the size effects discussed earlier in this section) is
lost in this way, but the nomenclature may be more familiar to you.
Time for activity:
Approximately 10-15 minutes.
Instructor notes:
Show or direct students to examine Figure 6.4 as this activity is carried out.
Students should reason and conclude:
(a) The number of equivalent Lewis structures for the oxyanions of the oxyacids of chlorine
are:
hypochlorite anion (1 structure)
Cl
Cl O
Cl O
Cl O
Cl O
Cl O
O Cl O
O Cl O
O
O Cl
O
O Cl O
O
(b) There is a correlation between the answers in part (a) and the relative strengths of the
oxyacids. The larger the number of equivalent structures for the oxyanions, the stronger the
Lewis oxyacid and the weaker the Lewis base for the oxyanion. The more equivalent Lewis
structures, the greater the amount of electron delocalization (more volume for the electron
waves to occupy), so the greater electron delocalization, the more stable the oxyanion and the
less basic it is.
Follow-up discussion:
As part of the discussion, help students see that the delocalization effect here is related to the
size effect for the anions discussed earlier in the section. The objective is to reinforce the idea
that electron delocalization lowers energies and makes species more stable.
Follow-up activities:
Check This 6.35. Acid-base properties of bleach solutions.
Check This 6.36. Another way to predict the strengths of oxyacids and oxyanions.
Consider This 6.37. How do oxyacids/oxyanions of different central atoms compare?
ACS Chemistry FROG
25
Chapter 6
Chemical Reactions
OH
O
HO
OH
OH
O
HO
OH
(b) The rule from Check This 6.36(a) predicts that oxyacids with the same number of oxygen
atoms double bonded to the central atom will have about the same acid strength. Chlorous
and phosphoric acid both have one oxygen double bonded to the central atom, so we expect
their acid strengths to be comparable, as they are. This is also what the delocalization of
electrons in the oxyanions predicts, because both phosphoric and chlorous acid form anions
that have two equivalent Lewis structures, that is, about the same amount of delocalization.
These examples suggest that the central atom of elements from the same period does not
influence the strength of their oxyacids.
(c) The Lewis structures for the oxyanions of nitrous acid, HONO, and chlorous acid,
HOClO are:
O
nitrite anion
26
Cl O
chlorite anion
Cl O
Chemical Reactions
Chapter 6
The rule from Check This 6.36(a) does not predict that the nitrite oxyanion is a somewhat
stronger base than the chlorite oxyanion. The delocalization of electrons in the oxyanions
also does not predict this observation. Since third period atoms are somewhat larger than
second period atoms, the delocalized electrons in oxyanions of third period atoms will
occupy a larger volume. The third period (larger) oxyanion will, therefore, be more stable
and thus a weaker base than similar oxyanions from second period elements even though
they have the same electron delocalization.
Follow-up discussion:
Use the discussion to further reinforce the idea that greater the delocalization of electrons the
more stable the species and, in the case of oxyanions, the weaker the bases.
Follow-up activities:
Check This 6.38. Relative acid and base strengths.
Worked Example 6.39. Predicting the direction of reaction for acid-base reactions.
Check This 6.40. Predicting the direction of reaction for acid-base reactions.
End of chapter problems 6.25 through 6.27.
SAFETY NOTE
Wear your safety goggles
Record the colors of the solutions.
Mix equal volumes of the two solutions.
Record the color of the mixture.
27
Chapter 6
Chemical Reactions
Anticipated results:
Photographs of the solutions before (left) and after (right) mixing are:
A reaction does occur between the ingredients of the mixture. Before the reaction, the nickel
solution was green. After the ammonia was added, the solution turned blue.
Disposal:
Dispose of the nickel solution according to local ordinances.
Supplemental activity:
An extension/supplement to this activity is to add 1 M ammonia solution to aqueous solutions
of sodium chloride and calcium chloride. The lack of color change in these mixtures,
compared to the distinct color change for nickel chloride in ammonia, provides a good point
of departure for a discussion of the differences between transition metals and the groups 1 and
2 metals, if you wish to include these ideas in your course.
Follow-up discussion:
Use Consider This 6.42 to initiate discussion of the results of this activity.
Follow-up activities:
Investigate This 6.43. Do calcium ions react with complexing ligands?
Consider This 6.44. How do calcium ions react with complexing ligands?
Investigate This 6.45. What is the three-dimensional structure of EDTA?
Check This 6.46. Keeping the shine in your hair.
Check This 6.47. - Names and structures of Pt(NH3)2Cl2.
Consider This 6.48. What is the structure of the nickel-dimethylglyoxime complex?
Check This 6.49. The porphine ring system in chlorophyll and heme.
End of chapter problems 6.28 through 6.31.
Consider This 6.42. How do you know a Lewis acid-base complex ion has reacted?
Goal:
Based on their results in Investigate This 6.41, determine if a Lewis acid-base complex ion
reaction has occurred.
Classroom options:
Students can build the models as a homework assignment. During the next class session,
allow 3-5 minutes for students, working in small groups, to compare their models and answer
the questions. Then, the groups can share their models and answers with the class.
28
Chemical Reactions
Chapter 6
You can build models of the complexes and have students answer the questions in small
groups or during an open class discussion. This is not as valuable an experience for your
students.
Time for activity:
5-10 minutes (if models are made by students before class).
Instructor notes:
Be sure the class agrees on the results from Investigate This 6.41. Show or refer to students to
Figure 6.5 and/or a model to demonstrate what an octahedral complex looks like.
Students should reason and conclude:
(a) The model for Ni2+(aq) should mimic the drawing of Cr3+(aq) = Cr(H2O)63+ in Figure 6.5.
One of the properties of this complex is its green color. When a new Lewis base is added to
the solution, the color changes from green to blue. The interaction with the added Lewis base
is probably responsible for the color change, so complexes of the nickel cation with different
Lewis bases have different colors. The evidence is that the complex with water is green.
(b) In this competition, ammonia wins because it is a stronger Lewis base than water (see
Table 6.2). We observed a color change when ammonia was added to the Ni2+(aq) solution.
The color change suggests that a new species has been formed in the solution. Since the only
change was to add a colorless solution containing NH3, we conclude that the stronger base,
ammonia, has won the competition for the Lewis acid, Ni2+ cation, and formed a new
complex ion.
(c) The non-bonding electron pair from the nitrogen atom in ammonia (Lewis base) will bond
to the Ni2+(Lewis acid). Six ammonia molecules bond to Ni2+ forming another octahedral
complex like the one with water. One of the properties of this new complex is its blue color.
Follow-up activities:
End of chapter problems 6.28 through 6.30.
29
Chapter 6
Chemical Reactions
O
S O
O
tubes.
To one of the test tubes, add 5 drops of the 0.1 M sodium oxalate solution. Swirl gently to mix
the solution.
Ask your students: "What do you observe? Is this what you expected? Why or why not?"
To this same test tube add 5 drops of the 0.1 M EDTA solution and gently swirl to mix the
solution.
30
Chemical Reactions
Chapter 6
Ask your students: "What do you observe? How would you explain all your observations?"
To the other test tube, add 5 drops of the 0.1 M sodium oleate solution. Swirl gently to mix the
Disposal:
Dispose reagents down the drain with copious amounts of water.
Follow-up discussion:
Use Consider This 6.44 to initiate discussion as you do this activity.
Follow-up activities:
Investigate This 6.45. What is the three-dimensional structure of EDTA?
Check This 6.46. Keeping the shine in your hair.
End of chapter problems 6.28 through 6.30.
Consider This 6.44. Do calcium ions react with complexing ligands?
Goal:
Based on their results from Investigate This 6.43, students discuss if calcium ions react with
complexing ligands.
Classroom options:
This activity is probably best conducted as a part of Investigate This 6.43 with designated
group members responding to the questions.
Instructor notes:
Review results from Investigate This 6.43 before conducting this activity.
Students should reason and conclude:
(a) When oxalate or oleate is added to the calcium ion solutions, white precipitates form. We
have observed the calcium oxalate precipitate previously. However, calcium oleate is also
insoluble in water because the long nonpolar, hydrocarbon tails are insoluble in water.
(b) When EDTA solution is added to the mixtures, the precipitates disappear. The Ca2+(aq)
ions now react with the EDTA ion, leaving behind the soluble oxalate and oleate ions in
solution.
Follow-up activities:
ACS Chemistry FROG
31
Chapter 6
Chemical Reactions
Follow-up discussion:
Show or direct students to Figure 6.6 to facilitate discussion of the structure of the complex.
Follow-up activities:
Check This 6.46. Keeping the shine in your hair.
Check This 6.47. Names and structures of Pt(NH3)2Cl2.
Consider This 6.48. What is the structure of the nickel-dimethylglyoxime complex?
Check This 6.49. The porphine ring system in chlorophyll and heme.
End of chapter problem 6.31.
Consider This 6.48. What is the structure of the nickel-dimethylglyoxime complex?
Goal:
Build a molecular model of the nickel-dimethylglyoxime complex that explains the
stoichiometric and other data for the complex.
Time for activity
5-10 minutes (if students make models or parts of them before class).
32
Chemical Reactions
Chapter 6
Classroom options:
Students can build the model (or parts of the model) as a homework assignment. During the
next class session, allow 3-5 minutes for students, working in small groups, to complete the
activity and then share their model(s) and rationales with the class.
You can bring in a model of the Ni(dmg)2 complex and have students discuss how the model
fits the data. This is not as valuable an experience for your students and does not force them to
use the data to build a satisfactory model.
Instructor notes:
Review the results from Check This 6.11 before conducting this activity.
Students should reason and conclude:
The structure of the complex should be planar with a square planar array of the nitrogen
atoms around the central metal cation, and the deprotonated ends of the dmg anions opposite
one another with hydrogen bonds between the two oxygen atoms at opposite sides of the
complex.
Follow-up discussion:
The data from Check This 6.11 give a 2:1 ratio for dmg to Ni. The complex is square planar.
The dmg molecules each lose a proton (Check This 6.11 says the reaction is carried out in
basic solution.), so the complex is neutral. The dmg ions are aligned head (still with proton) to
tail (proton lost) in the complex, so that H bonding from the proton still remaining on each
dmg to the oxygen that has lost its proton works nicely to help spread out the electron charge
density in the two negative centers and further reduce the solubility.
Make students aware of the large number of metal-ion complexes in biological systems. Show
or refer students to Figure 6.9 and Figure 6.10 for examples.
Follow-up activities:
End of chapter problem 6.31.
33
Chapter 6
Chemical Reactions
NOTE: Many faculty members report that students enjoy this activity. It is the first one where a
reaction product is detected by its pleasant odor.
Materials:
Two 25200-mm test tubes.
Water bath at 70 C.
Reagents:
4 g of salicylic acid, C7H6O3.
10 mL of methanol
4 drops of concentrated sulfuric acid
2 ml of saturated aqueous sodium hydrogen carbonate solution
Procedure:
This activity should be done as a class investigation with students working in small groups to
observe and analyze the results.
SAFETY NOTE
Wear your safety goggles
Methanol is flammableno flames
Concentrated sulfuric acid is corrosivewear protective
clothing
Mix about 2 g of solid salicylic acid, 5 mL of methanol, and 2 small drops of concentrated
34
Chemical Reactions
Chapter 6
Follow-up activities:
Check This 6.52. Centers of positive and negative charge in molecules.
Check This 6.53. More nucleophile-electrophile reactions.
Check This 6.54. A condensation reaction.
Check This 6.55. Polyamide condensation polymers.
Check This 6.56. Water as a nucleophile.
Check This 6.57. Polymeric structure of DNA.
End of chapter problems 6.32 through 6.43.
Consider This 6.51. What is the product of reaction of an acid with an alcohol?
Goal:
Identify the product of the reaction of salicylic acid with methanol by its odor and suggest the
conditions necessary for the reaction.
Classroom options:
Allow 3-5 minutes for students, working in small groups, to answer the questions and then
share their suggested product identity and required conditions with the class.
This activity can be conducted as an open class discussion.
Time for activity
Approximately 10 minutes.
Instructor notes:
Be sure all the students have an opportunity to observe (smell) the results from Investigate
This 6.50.
Students should reason and conclude:
The heated test tube containing salicylic acid, methanol, and a drop of sulfuric acid has a very
different odor than the starting reaction mixture or the sample that has not been heated. (If you
do a further control experiment heating the salicylic acid and methanol mixture, that sample
will also not have the new odor.)
The new odor is quite distinctive and many (if not all) students will recognize the wintergreen
odor.
The conditions required for the reaction appear to be heating and perhaps a large amount of
alcohol compared to salicylic acid as well as the presence of a strong acid (probably to
provide hydronium ion to make the reaction proceed more readily). (If you do the further
control experiment, the conclusion is reinforced that the hydronium ion, as well as heat, is
required.)
Follow-up discussion:
Introduce and define nucleophile and electrophile.
Review the identification of reaction centers found for alcohol and aldehyde functional groups
in Chapter 5, Section 5.10, Consider This 5.68(b). Point out that this is a nucleophileelectrophile interaction.
Discuss the reaction pathway represented in equations (6.33) and (6.34). Try to assure that
students recognize that these are two different ways (molecular level and symbolic) to
represent the same reaction. The structural drawings in equation (6.34) are designed to look
similar in geometry to the space filling structures in equation (6.33). Also, show that the
interaction shown in the first step of equation (6.34) is analogous to the interaction in
Consider This 5.68(b).
35
Chapter 6
Chemical Reactions
The mechanism is more complex than is presented in equation (6.34) but, for general
chemistry students, we felt it was adequate. For your information and perhaps for some
interested students, a more complete mechanism is:
O
R
OH
OH2
( H2O)
R
OH R
R'
O
R
OH2
OR'
R
( H2O)
R'
C OH
2
O
R
R'
H
OH
OH
C OH
O
H
O
R
OR'
OH2
The product is methyl salicylate and students are asked to give its structure in Check This
6.53(a). You might incorporate Check This 6.52 and 6.53 into the discussion initiated by
Consider This 6.51.
OH
O
C
CH3
O
Follow-up activities:
Check This 6.52. Centers of positive and negative charge in molecules.
Check This 6.53. More nucleophile-electrophile reactions.
Check This 6.54. A condensation reaction.
Check This 6.55. Polyamide condensation polymers.
Check This 6.56. Water as a nucleophile.
Check This 6.57. Polymeric structure of DNA.
End of chapter problems 6.32 through 6.43.
36
Chemical Reactions
Chapter 6
Classroom options:
Allow 3-5 minutes for students, working in small groups, to complete this activity. Then, the
groups can share their Lewis structures.
This activity could also be assigned as a homework problem and then discussed at the next
class session, either in small groups initially or open class discussion.
This activity can be conducted as an open class discussion.
Time for activity:
Ranged from 5-10 minutes to 15-20 minutes.
Instructor notes:
Answer questions about Worked Example 6.58 before beginning this activity.
Students should reason and conclude:
(a) Three possible Lewis structures for the cyanate ion that obey the octet rule (shown with
the formal charge on each atom and overall charge on the ion) are:
0
1 0
2 0
+1
There has to be a formal charge on at least one atom in the Lewis structures, since the overall
ion has a 1 charge. The first two structures have a 1 formal charge on either O or N, both
of which are electronegative atoms. Since O is more electronegative, we would expect the
first structure to have lower energy (be more stable) than the second. The third structure puts
a 2 formal charge on N and +1 formal charge on O, which is a sum of 1 for the overall
charge. This distribution of the electrons is likely to result in a much higher energy structure
than either of the other two. (We will find later that structures with low formal charges are
more stable than those with higher formal charges.)
Two possible Lewis structures that obey the octet rule for the isocyanate ion (shown with the
formal charge on each atom and overall charge on the ion) are:
1 +1 1
C N O
2 +1 0
C N O
In both these structures, there are multiple atoms with formal charge and/or atoms with
higher than 1 formal charge. (Both of these conditions lead to instability, so isocyanate is
predicted to be less stable than cyanate. See Check This 6.60.)
(b) If the structure of the intermediate in reaction (6.34) is exploded, we get:
-1
H
O
0
H
+1
O
C
0
H
The formal charges on the oxygens are 1, 0, and +1, so their sum is zero, which is the
overall charge on this electrically neutral intermediate.
37
Chapter 6
Chemical Reactions
Follow-up discussion:
Point out that an interpretation of formal charge is a change in polarization of an atom when
compared to its polarization in a different bonding situation.
Reaction intermediates often contain formal charges on several atoms, but when they undergo
electron and atomic core redistribution, the number of formal charges is usually reduced, as
observed in the resulting products.
You might present examples such as the nitrate ion and the carbonate ion to tie the material
back to the previous chapter that involved delocalized pi orbitals (and/or resonance structures,
if you have chosen to introduce this piece of nomenclature).
Follow-up activities:
Check This 6.60. Using formal charge.
Consider This 6.61. How are the correlations in Table 6.3 applied?
End of chapter problems 6.44 through 6.47.
Consider This 6.61. How are the correlations in Table 6.3 applied?
Goal:
Apply the information presented in Table 6.3 to the intermediate in reaction (6.34), water
reacting with carbon dioxide to produce carbonic acid, and to reaction (6.8).
Classroom options:
This activity can be conducted as an open class discussion.
Time for activity:
From 10-15 minutes to 15-20 minutes, depending on the depth of the discussion you wish to
have.
Instructor notes:
As a part of this activity, discuss the information listed in Table 6.3.
The reaction and rearrangements asked for here in part (b) are shown in Problem 6.26 and
those for part (c) in Problem 6.39.
Students should reason and conclude:
(a) The intermediate from reaction (6.34) is reproduced below with electron rearrangements
shown and the oxygen atoms labeled for reference. Oxygen (1) has a 1 formal charge and
one of its nonbonding electron pairs changes to become a bonding pair, thus creating a
double bond in the product. Oxygen (iii) has a +1 formal charge and changes a bonding
electron pair (to the hydrogen atom) to a nonbonding pair with the transfer of a proton to a
base, one of the nonbonding electron pairs on oxygen (ii). Although oxygen (ii) has zero
formal charge in the structure shown, it would have a +1 formal charge if this proton transfer
occurs and it would also change a bonding electron pair (to the carbon atom) to a nonbonding
pair and leave the intermediate as a water molecule. Although the reaction is a bit more
complex than this, we can think of the reaction occurring as a concerted series of electron
and atomic core rearrangements that lead to the final product with each oxygen acting as
suggested in Table 6.3.
38
Chemical Reactions
Chapter 6
H O (i)
(ii)
C C
O H
H O
(iii) H
C H
H C
H
H H
(b) The intermediate for the nucleophile-electrophile reaction of water with carbon dioxide
is:
(ii) O
(iii)
(i) O C O
H
H
Oxygen atom (i) has a 1 formal charge and is likely to change a nonbonding electron pair to
a bonding pair by gaining a proton from an acid to form an OH group. Oxygen (ii) has no
formal charge and is likely to remain as it is. Oxygen (iii) has a +1 formal charge and is
likely to change a bonding electron pair to a nonbonding pair by losing a proton to a base.
The acid and base required for these changes could be other water molecules, or the changes
to form carbonic acid could be internal, as shown here:
(ii) O
(i) O
C
H
(iii)
O H
O
C
H3 CH2 C + H
(i) O
O CH3
H
H3CH2C C O (ii)
CH3
H
H3CH2C C O
H
CH3
In the intermediate, oxygen atom (i) has a 1 formal charge and is likely to change a
nonbonding electron pair to a bonding pair by gaining a proton from an acid to form an OH
group. Oxygen (ii) has a +1 formal charge and is likely to change a bonding electron pair to a
nonbonding pair by losing a proton to a base. As in part (b) the acid and base required for
these changes could be other water molecules, or the changes to form carbonic acid could be
internal, as shown at the end of part (b).
Follow-up discussion:
Review the main points in the "Reflection and Projection."
Follow-up activities:
End of chapter problems 6.44 through 6.47.
39
Chapter 6
Chemical Reactions
Identify the molecules or ions that are reduced and oxidized and their respective products in
an oxidation-reduction reaction.
Assign oxidation numbers to all the atoms in a given molecule or ion.
Balance a given oxidation-reduction reaction in acidic or basic solution by inspection, the
SAFETY NOTE
Wear your safety goggles
To one well of the well plate, add enough 0.1 M aqueous silver nitrate, AgNO3, solution to
give a layer of liquid 2-3 mm deep. To an adjacent well, add about the same volume of 0.1 M
aqueous copper sulfate, CuSO4, solution.
Use an overhead projector to show the plate on the screen.
Bend a clean copper wire into a zigzag shape, so it will lie flat in the bottom of a well.
Place it in the well containing the silver nitrate solution.
Do the same with a piece of clean silver wire and place it in the copper sulfate well.
NOTE: Clean the copper wire by dipping it in a 1M HCl solution for several seconds and then
rinsing well with water. The silver can be cleaned with a fine emery cloth. Since no reaction
occurs with the silver metal, it is fully recoverable to be used another day.
Anticipated results:
The blue solution of copper(II) ion containing the silver metal will stay the same; no reaction
occurs. Soon after copper metal is placed in the clear colorless silver(I) ion solution, the
projected image of the wire begins to become fatter and soon looks fuzzy. Direct observation
of the wire in the solution shows that a gray layer builds up on the wire with little silvery
needles covering the surface. After several minutes, the original colorless solution begins to
look light blue. The photo shows the unreacted silver wire-copper(II) ion solution on the left.
The copper wire-silver(I) ion solution reaction on the right is shown after silver metal has
begun to build up on a coil of copper wire, but before the solution is appreciably blue.
40
Chemical Reactions
Chapter 6
Another illustration of this reaction is found in the movie in the Web Companion, Chapter 6,
41
Chapter 6
Chemical Reactions
SAFETY NOTES
Wear your safety goggles and gloves to handle the
reagents.
Concentrated nitric acid and hydrochloric acid are
powerfully corrosive.
Some products of the reaction are toxic and must be kept
in the plastic bags and disposed properly in a fume hood.
NOTE: If you have the facilities to do so, you can conduct this activity in a hood.
Carry out this reaction in a "double-bagged" plastic zip-closure bag by placing one zip closure
bag inside another. This set-up will contain any fumes and odors.
Place a 400-mL beaker about three-quarters full of water in the bag.
42
Chemical Reactions
Chapter 6
Being careful not to spill it, place a 100-mL beaker containing 5 mL of concentrated nitric
Notes/Warnings:
DO NOT USE A PENNY for this experiment, even if you have a real copper, pre-1982
penny. There is enough copper in the penny to create more NO2(g) than you would want and
you would probably find yourself in a similar quandary to that of the young Ira Remsen when
he determined to find out what it meant when he read that nitric acid acts upon copper. In
the gallon-size zip-seal bag, there is plenty of slack in the plastic to allow the manipulations
described in the activity and to contain the NO2 that is formed from 0.25 g of copper.
Anticipated results:
This series of photos shows the set up (in a single plastic bag) and the reaction with nitric acid
shortly after it begins and when it is finished a minute or two later:
In the nitric acid reaction with copper, the reddish-brown color of NO2(g) is obvious during
the reaction. The blue-green color of the Cu2+(aq) in the small beaker [combination of the
color of the still-dissolved NO2 and the copper(II) ion] and blue color of the solution after it is
diluted is the clue to its formation.
No apparent reaction occurs with hydrochloric acid (much to the disappointment of the class).
Disposal:
To dispose of the contents of the bag, you can open it in a hood to vent NO2(g) and pour the
diluted nitric acid (less than about 0.25 M at this point) down the drain with lots of running
water. If your institution has a Cu2+(aq) disposal requirement, dispose in a properly labeled
container. NO2(g) will dissolve in the water in the baggie, if given enough time.
2+
Dispose of the diluted hydrochloric acid in the same way. No Cu (aq) contaminates this
solution.
Follow-up discussion:
Use Consider This 6.67 to initiate discussion of the results of this activity and Consider This
6.68 to continue the discussion, once the redox reaction between copper and nitric acid has
been established.
Follow-up activities:
+
Consider This 6.68. What is the reaction of Cu(s) with H3O (aq)?
43
Chapter 6
Chemical Reactions
Consider This 6.67. What are the products of Cu(s) reactions with nitric and/or
hydrochloric acid?
Goal:
Based on their observations from Investigate This 6.66, students determine the products of
reaction of Cu(s) with nitric and hydrochloric acids.
Classroom options:
Allow 3-5 minutes for students, working in small groups, to complete this activity. Then, the
instructor can lead the discussion, summarizing answers on the chalkboard or an overhead
transparency or have students do so.
This activity could also be assigned as a homework problem and then discussed at the next
class session, either in small groups initially or open class discussion.
This activity can be conducted as an open class discussion.
Instructor notes:
Be sure the class agrees on the results from Investigate This 6.66 before conducting this
activity and discussion.
Students should reason and conclude:
(a) Copper reacts with nitric acid. The evidence is that a reddish-brown gas and bubbles are
observed when copper metal is placed in concentrated nitric acid. The solution turns bluegreen and when diluted is blue. In Investigate This 6.62, we saw that an aqueous solution of
copper(II) ions is blue, so we can identify one of the reaction products as Cu2+(aq). [Few
students will know that the brown gas is NO2, but the text following this activity says that
NO2 is a reddish-brown gas, so the identification is made quickly.] There was no visible
change when copper was added to hydrochloric acid, so we conclude that copper does not
react with hydrochloric acid under these conditions.
(b) The vigorous reaction between copper and nitric acid must be a reduction-oxidation
reaction, because copper metal is oxidized to copper(II) ion in the reaction. Whatever is
reduced could be the source of the reddish-brown gas. There is no apparent reaction of any
kind between copper and hydrochloric acid.
Follow-up discussion:
Discuss which reactant is oxidized and which is reduced and the evidence for the answers.
Use the discussion to lead up to the overall balanced redox reaction, after ascertaining in
Consider This 6.68 that copper does not react with hydronium ion.
NOTE: The balanced reduction-oxidation reaction is given in Worked Example 6.78.
Follow-up activities:
+
Consider This 6.68. What is the reaction of Cu(s) with H3O (aq)?
Check This 6.69. Oxidation numbers for elements and monatomic ions
Check This 6.70. The procedure and definition of oxidation number.
Worked Example 6.71. Assigning oxidation numbers.
Check This 6.72. Assigning oxidation numbers.
Check This 6.73. Oxidation-reduction reactions.
Consider This 6.74. Are there patterns in oxidation numbers?
Check This 6.75. Oxidation number for oxygen in peroxides.
Worked Example 6.76. Assigning oxidation numbers.
Check This 6.77. Assigning oxidation numbers.
44
Chemical Reactions
Chapter 6
45
Chapter 6
Chemical Reactions
(a) The oxygen atom has an oxidation number of 2 except in H2O2 where the oxygen atoms
have an oxidation number of 1. The oxygen atom is more electronegative than any other
atom (except fluorine), so, in determining oxidation numbers, oxygen is assigned all the
bonding electrons, which gives it a 2 oxidation number. The exception in H2O2 is because
the oxygen atoms are bonded to each other and each is assigned only one of the bonding
electron pair, thus making the oxidation number of each oxygen atom increase by 1 to +1.
(b) In the H-containing compounds that we have considered, oxidation number for H is +1,
except for when it is bonded to carbon when its oxidation number is 0. In most of the
compounds we have met so far, hydrogen atoms are bonded to carbon or elements more
electronegative than carbon. For the more electronegative elements, the bonding electron pair
between H and the other element is always assigned to the more electronegative element,
leaving H+, with an oxidation number of +1. Our rule for carbon assigns one of the bonding
pair of electrons to H and other to C, so the hydrogen atom formed has a zero oxidation
number.
Follow-up discussion:
Discuss Table 6.5, which provides an alternative set of rules for assigning oxidation numbers
based on initial assignments of the oxidation numbers for oxygen and hydrogen atoms in
compounds.
Follow-up activities:
Check This 6.75. Oxidation number for oxygen in peroxides.
Worked Example 6.76. Assigning oxidation numbers.
Check This 6.77. Assigning oxidation numbers.
End of chapter problems 6.48 through 6.55.
46
Chemical Reactions
Chapter 6
Reagents:
1 mL of 6 M sulfuric acid solution, (HO)2SO2(aq).
20 mL of 20% aqueous potassium iodide, KI. (If this is not made up fresh, it may appear
yellowish, due to air oxidation of the iodide to iodine. Add a tiny crystal of sodium
thiosulfate, Na2S2O35H2O, and mix to reduce the iodine and produce a clear, colorless
solution. Acidified solutions air-oxidize much faster, which is why the solution is acidified
here just before it is used.)
Few drops of household bleach.
Procedure:
SAFETY NOTE
Wear your safety goggles.
Mix 1 mL of 6 M aqueous sulfuric acid, (HO)2SO2 with 20 mL of 20% aqueous potassium
iodide, KI, solution in the flask. Swirl to mix and have the groups record their observations.
Add a few drops of household bleach to the flask, swirl to mix the contents, and have the
groups record their observations. The solution should now appear dark red-orange, due to the
presence of iodine, I2 [as I3(aq) in this solution].
Anticipated results:
These photos show a flask containing acidified iodide solution on the left and, on the right, the
flask after a few drops of bleach are added and the flask swirled to mix the reactants:
Disposal:
Wash the solution down the drain with copious amounts of water.
Follow-up discussion:
Use Consider This 6.81 to initiate discussion of the results of this activity.
Follow-up activities:
Worked Example 6.82. Balancing redox equations by the half-reactions method.
Check This 6.83. Balancing redox equations by the half-reactions method.
Worked Example 6.84. Balancing redox equations in basic solution.
Check This 6.85. Balancing redox equation in basic solution.
End of chapter problems 6.56 through 6.60.
Consider This 6.81. What is the reaction between bleach and iodide?
Goal:
Conclude that the reaction between bleach and iodide in acidic solution is a redox reaction
producing iodine and possibly chloride.
47
Chapter 6
Chemical Reactions
Classroom options:
Allow 3-5 minutes for students, working in small groups, to complete this activity. Then, the
instructor can lead the discussion, summarizing answers on the chalkboard or an overhead
transparency or have students do so.
This activity could also be assigned as a homework problem and then discussed at the next
class session, either in small groups initially or open class discussion.
This activity could be conducted as an open class discussion.
Instructor notes:
Be sure the class agrees on the observations from Investigate This 6.80 before doing this
activity.
Students should reason and conclude:
(a) When clear, colorless acid solution was added to the clear, colorless potassium iodide
solution, no change was observed, so we conclude that acid and iodide ion do not react with
one another. When bleach was added to the acidified iodide solution, the color of the solution
changed to dark red-orange indicating that a reaction had occurred between bleach and acidic
potassium iodide solution.
(b) We know that iodine is a highly colored solid and its solutions are probably also highly
colored, so it seems reasonable to conclude that one of the reaction products is elemental
iodine, I2. Since production of iodine (ON = 0) from iodide (ON = 1) is a reduction, this
must be a reduction-oxidation reaction.
(c) The chlorine atom in the hypochlorite ion has an ON = +1. Since iodide is oxidized, the
chlorine atom in the hypochlorite ion is probably reduced. A likely product would be the
chloride ion, Cl (ON = 1). Chloride ion in solution is colorless, so no evidence for its
formation could be observed in the investigation. Further analysis would be needed. Another
possible product would be elemental chlorine, Cl2 (ON = 0), but chlorine is a gas and there is
no evidence of gas formation in the reaction system. [Even if elemental chlorine were
formed, it would react rapidly with iodide to produce iodine and chloride, so it would never
be observed.]
Follow-up discussion:
Investigate This 6.80 and Consider This 6.81 are designed to be the lead in for you to
introduce the half-reactions method for balancing oxidation-reduction reactions. This is the
reaction that is used in the Worked Example 6.82 after the procedure is presented in Table 6.7.
Follow-up activities:
Worked Example 6.82. Balancing redox equations by the half-reactions method.
Check This 6.83. Balancing redox equations by the half-reactions method.
Worked Example 6.84. Balancing redox equations in basic solution.
Check This 6.85. Balancing redox equation in basic solution.
End of chapter problems 6.56 through 6.60.
48
Chemical Reactions
Chapter 6
SAFETY NOTES
Wear your safety goggles.
The basic silver Tollens solution is caustic and can harm
clothes and skin. Handle with protective gloves.
Tollens reagent is unstable and, on standing, can form
explosive silver fulminate.
Preparation of Tollens reagent:
WARNING: DO NOT PREPARE MORE OF THE MIXTURE THAN YOU WILL USE. The
stock solutions used to prepare Tollens reagent are stable, but the mixture is unstable, and, on
standing, can form explosive silver fulminate.
(A) 1 g of silver nitrate, AgNO3, dissolved in 10 mL water.
(B) 1 g sodium hydroxide, NaOH, dissolved in 10 mL water.
(C) Ammonia solution made by diluting concentrated ammonia 1:10 with water.
49
Chapter 6
Chemical Reactions
Just before doing the activity, mix 2 mL each of solutions (A) and (B) and then add solution
(C) dropwise, while swirling the test tube, until the precipitate of hydrous silver oxide just
dissolves. This solution should be essentially clear and colorless.
NOTE: You can do this preparation in the test tube to be used for the activity. Or, if you want to
do more than one reaction or test more than one reducing agent, mix a larger batch and use
aliquots.
Add to the test tube, containing 4 mL of the Tollens reagent a few drops of an aqueous
solution of methanal (formaldehyde), H2CO.
Swirl the test tube to mix the reagents and continue to swirl for at least a minute or two as
silver metal deposits on the inside wall of the test tube forming a silver mirror.
Alternative Activity:
One instructor has suggested substituting the Benedicts test for reducing sugars for the silver
mirror (Tollens) test and using the EDTA version of Benedict's solution (J. Chem. Ed. 1994,
71, 345). The reducing sugar test demonstrates that glucose, but not sucrose, reduces
copper(II) ions (blue solution) to copper(I) oxide (reddish-brown solid). After recognizing that
copper(II) ions were reduced, students realized that the only difference between the two
solutions was the sugar, and that the glucose must have been the reducing agent. The
instructor used the opportunity to introduce the intramolecular aldehyde-alcohol reaction that
leads to the closed form of glucose that many of the students are familiar with from biology
(see end of chapter problem 6.40), and we have been using in this text. After comparing the
structures of glucose and sucrose, it was pointed out why the sucrose rings, unlike the glucose
rings, cannot open up and therefore why sucrose cannot reduce the copper(II) ions. This
instructor felt that it was a good end of chapter activity because it brought together many of
the topics, including formal charge, nucleophile-electrophile reactions, and oxidation
numbers. [Benedicts test is introduced and analyzed in Chapter 10, Section 10.8. If this
alternative is used, students can be referred back to what has been done here instead of
redoing it. You will have to introduce a bit more chemistry, if you use the alternative. As
noted, the formation of the internal hemiacetal is introduced in the end of chapter problems,
so, if you are planning to use those problems, this alternative activity could fit in well. If you
would prefer not to introduce more complexity at this stage, then this alternative is a poor
choice.]
Disposal:
When the activity with 4 mL is complete, pour the liquid contents of the test tube into about
150 mL of 0.1 M hydrochloric acid, HCl, in a 600 mL beaker. The caustic solution is
destroyed by reaction with the acid and any residual silver ion precipitates as silver chloride.
The silver chloride can be collected and disposed of with other heavy metals.
Follow-up discussion:
Use Consider This 6.87 to initiate discussion of this activity.
Follow-up activities:
Consider This 6.88. What oxidation numbers are available for carbon?
Check This 6.89. Balancing the methanal-silver ion reaction equation.
Check This 6.90. Oxidation numbers for carbons in glucose fermentation.
Check This 6.91. Net glycolysis reaction.
Check This 6.92. Reduction-oxidation of glucose.
End of chapter problems 6.61 through 6.64.
50
Chemical Reactions
Chapter 6
Consider This 6.87. What is the reaction of methanal with silver ion?
Goal:
Conclude, based on the results of Investigate This 6.86, that the reaction is a redox reaction and
one of the products is silver metal.
Classroom options:
This activity can be conducted as an open class discussion begun as the silver mirror begins to
form in Investigate This 6.86.
Instructor notes:
Be sure the class agrees on the results of Investigate This 6.86. If you use reducing sugars
instead of methanal for the Tollens test, you will either need to amend some of the discussion
following this activity, or simply not inform the class that you used a different reducing agent.
[If you opt to do the alternative activity described above in Investigate This 6.86, you will
need to change the discussion here to focus on the reduction of copper(II) to copper(I).]
Students should reason and conclude:
Silver metal forms on the test tube wall, so one product of the reaction is Ag(s), ON = 0.
Since the silver is in the original solution as Ag(I), reduction of the silver has occurred, and
this is a reduction-oxidation reaction. The other product of the reaction, presumably an
oxidized species formed from methanal, cannot be directly identified from the observations
in Investigate This 6.86. [See the reasoning in Consider This 6.88.]
Follow-up discussion:
Focus on figuring out what the oxidation product from methanal must be.
Follow-up activities:
Consider This 6.88. What oxidation numbers are available for carbon?
Check This 6.89. Balancing the methanal-silver ion reaction equation.
Check This 6.90. Oxidation numbers for carbons in glucose fermentation.
Check This 6.91. Net glycolysis reaction.
Check This 6.92. Reduction-oxidation of glucose.
End of chapter problems 6.61 through 6.64.
Consider This 6.88. What oxidation numbers are available for carbon?
Goal:
Conclude that oxidation numbers of 0, +1, +2, +3, and +4 are possible for carbon and that
methanoic (formic) acid is the most likely methanal oxidation product with silver(I) as the
oxidizing agent.
Classroom options:
Allow 3-5 minutes for students, working in small groups, to complete this activity. Then, the
groups can share their answers with the class to begin the discussion.
This activity could also be assigned as a homework problem and then discussed at the next
class session, either in small groups initially or open class discussion.
This activity could be conducted as an open class discussion.
Instructor notes:
For part (a), suggest that students draw Lewis structures before determining the oxidation
numbers for each of the atoms in the compounds.
Students should reason and conclude:
51
Chapter 6
Chemical Reactions
(a)
H
0
H
H0
H0
-2
-2
O
0
H
-2
+1
+1
C
O
H
0
H
C +2
H
0
H
C+3
-2
O
+1
H
-2
O
+4
C
-2
O
The oxidation numbers shown in red are derived from the rules in Table 6.5. In each case, the
oxidation numbers for H and/or O are assigned first and then the oxidation number for C is
assigned to make the sum of oxidation numbers zero in each case.
(b) Yes, there is a correlation between the number of bonding pairs of electrons between
carbon and oxygen and the oxidation number of carbon. The number of bonding pairs of
electrons between carbon and oxygen gives the oxidation number of carbon. Another way to
state this is to say that the oxidation number of carbon is equal to the number of bonds carbon
makes to oxygen.
(c) The oxidation product from methanal could be either methanoic (formic) acid or carbon
dioxide. Since there is no evidence for the formation of a gas (no bubbles) in the reaction, the
oxidized product is likely to be methanoic acid.
Follow-up discussion:
Use the discussion to review how equation (6.74) is obtained from equation (6.73).
Follow-up activities:
Check This 6.89. Balancing the methanal-silver ion reaction equation.
Check This 6.90. Oxidation numbers for carbons in glucose fermentation.
Check This 6.91. Net glycolysis reaction.
Check This 6.92. Reduction-oxidation of glucose.
End of chapter problems 6.61 through 6.64.
52
Chemical Reactions
Chapter 6
Materials:
24-wll microtiter plate.
Overhead projector.
Reagents:
0.10 M aqueous sodium hydroxide, NaOH. Dissolve 0.40 g NaOH(s) in 100. mL water.
0.10 M aqueous ethanoic (acetic) acid, CH3C(O)OH. Add 5.7 mL glacial acetic acid to about
500 mL water and bring the volume to 1000. mL.
NOTE: These solutions should be made up reasonably accurately. The results depend on the
solutions being the same concentration, so that 0.8 mL of the base does not react with all the
acid in 1.0 mL of acid, but 1.0 mL of the base does. The activity is a titration.
Bromocresol green acid-base indicator. Dissolve about 40 mg of solid bromocresol green
indicator in 6 mL of 0.01 M NaOH solution and dilute to 100 mL with water.
Procedure:
SAFETY NOTE
Wear your safety goggles.
Add two drops of bromocresol green acid-base indicator solution to about 20 mL of the 0.10
microtiter plate.
Leave the solution in the first well as it is.
Add 0.20 mL of 0.10 M aqueous sodium hydroxide, NaOH solutions to the second well, 0.40
mL to the third, 0.60 mL to the fourth, and so on to 1.40 mL to the eighth well.
Place the plate on an overhead projector so students can view the plate and the colors of the
solutions in the wells.
Have students record the color in each of the wells and discuss the colors and differences in
color from one well to the next, until the class agrees on these descriptions.
Anticipated Results:
The identity (names) of the colors assigned by the class may be somewhat different than those
in this table, but there should be a definite greenish hue for wells two through five and the
same blue color in wells six through eight.
Added Base
Color
none
Yellow
0.20 mL
Light green
0.40 mL
Green
0.60 mL
Turquoise
0.80 mL
Blue green
1.00 mL
Blue
1.20 mL
Blue
1.40 mL
Blue
53
Chapter 6
Chemical Reactions
NOTE: It is wise to check these solutions before doing the activity. Equal volumes of the acid
and base (with indicator) should be blue, but solutions that have less than an equivalent of base
should show a definite green hue (mixture of yellow and blue). The indicator in the acid is
yellow. Addition of some base begins to turn the solution green and then blue at equivalence
and beyond. It is OK to dilute the samples as is done in this activity, since the intermediate
solutions are buffered and dilution has little effect on the pH. Since the solutions are being
viewed through columns of liquid containing the same number of moles of indicator, the
dilution doesnt affect the intensity of the observed color. If students are uncomfortable with the
changing volumes, add enough water to each sample to make the volumes all 2.4 mL. The
activity can be done on a larger scale, if desired, but, if viewed from the side, the final volumes
should all be the same.
This photograph shows the results, but the camera favors the blue a bit, so well five looks
almost the same blue as wells six through eight. When the solutions are correctly prepared, the
difference is easy to detect.
Disposal:
Discard solutions down the drain with plenty of water. Rinse plates well with water.
Follow-up discussion:
Use Consider This 6.94 to initiate discussion of the results of this activity.
Follow-up activities:
Check This 6.95. Acid-base equivalence in Investigate This 6.93.
Worked Example 6.96. An acid-base titration.
Check This 6.97. An acid-base titration.
End of chapter problems 6.65 and 6.66
Consider This 6.94. How can you follow an acid-base reaction?
Goal:
Conclude and explain, based on the results from Investigate This 6.93, that the stoichiometry of
an acid-base reaction can be followed using an acid-base indicator.
Classroom options:
This activity can be conducted as an open class discussion immediately following Investigate
This 6.93.
Instructor notes:
Students should be viewing the results form Investigate This 6.93 as they carry out this
activity.
54
Chemical Reactions
Chapter 6
SAFETY NOTE
Wear your safety goggles
55
Chapter 6
Chemical Reactions
Students can work in small groups to do this investigation and to discuss and analyze the
results. The student who does the actual manipulations in each part should wear safety
goggles.
Each group will use two small test tubes and three, labeled thin-stem plastic pipets containing,
respectively, water, 0.0050 M aqueous ascorbic acid (vitamin C) solution, and 0.0050 M
aqueous iodine, I2 [I3(aq)], solution.
(a)
In one test tube, mix 20 drops of water and 3 drops of iodine solution. Students should record
their observations on the appearance of the reagents and mixture.
In the second test tube, mix 20 drops of ascorbic acid solution and 3 drops of iodine solution.
Students should record their observations on the appearance of the reagents and mixture.
(b)
Continue to mix iodine solution, 2-3 drops at a time, with the ascorbic acid solution while
keeping a count of the total number of drops added.
Stop adding at the first sign that the ascorbic acid has all reacted. Record the total number of
drops required.
Anticipated results:
(a) Addition of 3 drops of the red-orange solution of iodine (triiodide) to 20 drops of water
should give a light yellow-orange solution. Addition of 3 drops of the red-orange solution of
iodine (triiodide) to 20 drops of the clear, colorless ascorbic acid solution should give a clear
colorless solution. The ascorbic acid reduces iodine to iodide.
(b) Iodine (triiodide) and ascorbic acid react in a 1:1 mole ratio. Assuming that the students
use 20 drops of 0.0050 M ascorbic acid, it should require about 20 drops of 0.0050 M iodine
to titrate the ascorbic acid. The end point in the titration is signaled by the solution becoming
colored (yellow), when all the ascorbic acid has reacted.
Disposal:
Discard solutions in the test tubes down the drain, rinsing with copious amounts of water.
Follow-up discussion:
Since the technique, as presented, is crude (to make it fast) the drop ratio will probably not be
exactly 20:20. You can help students interpret the data by suggesting that the molar
equivalencies have to be a simple ratio of whole numbers; a little variation is expected
because of the experimental uncertainties. Alternately, you can do the titration on a larger
scale in the standard way with a buret. The titration is fast and can be done to 1-5% precision
in a couple of minutes.
Use Consider This 6.99 to initiate discussion of this activity.
Follow-up activities:
Check This 6.100. Ascorbic acid oxidation.
End of chapter problems 6.65 and 6.66.
Consider This 6.99. What is the stoichiometry of the iodine-ascorbic acid reaction?
Goal:
Conclude, based on the results from Investigate This 6.98, that iodine and ascorbic acid react in
a one-to-one stoichiometric ratio.
Classroom options:
This activity can be conducted as an open-class discussion after the groups report their results
from Investigate This 6.98.
56
Chemical Reactions
Chapter 6
Instructor notes:
Discuss the results from Investigate This 6.98, being sure the class agrees on the observations
and on a class average ratio of drops of iodine solution to drops of ascorbic acid solution
required for complete reaction of the ascorbic acid.
Students should reason and conclude:
(a) When 3 drops of the red-orange iodine solution is added to 20 drops of water, the
resulting solution is light yellow-orange. When 3 drops of the red-orange iodine solution is
added to 20 drops of clear, colorless ascorbic acid solution, the resulting solution is clear and
colorless. The iodine must have reacted to produce a product that is not colored. On
possibility is that it is reduced to iodide ion.
(b) About 20 drops of the iodine solution were required to react with all the ascorbic acid in
20 drops of its solution. We knew all the ascorbic acid had reacted, because addition of
another drop or two of iodine caused the clear, colorless solution to take on a light yelloworange color indicating that iodine was now left unreacted in the solution. The concentrations
of the two reagents, iodine and ascorbic acid, are the same and equal volumes (number of
drops) react, so they must react in a 1:1 stoichiometric ratio.
Follow-up activities:
Check This 6.100. Ascorbic acid oxidation.
End of chapter problems 6.65 and 6.66.
57
Chapter 6
Chemical Reactions
58
Chemical Reactions
Chapter 6
number of moles of precipitate are equal to the half the number of moles of C4H8N2O2 that
react: mol precipitate = 6.55 104, 5.45 104, and 4.10 104, respectively, in samples 4, 5,
and 6.
(c) The average total number of moles of the two reactants is 20.7 104 mol.
(d) To prepare a sample that would give the exact stoichiometric ratio of Ni2+ to C4H8N2O2, we
need one that contains a 1:2 ratio of moles of these reactants in amounts that equal a total of
20.7 104 mol. One-third of the moles in the mixture should be Ni2+ and the other two thirds
C4H8N2O2. A mixture that contains 6.90 104 [= (20.7 104)/3] mol Ni2+ and 13.8 104 mol
C4H8N2O2 will give 6.90 104 mol of precipitate. The precipitate is surely an electrically
neutral substance, so it is likely that hydrogen ions, H+, are lost from dmg in the process of
reacting with Ni2+ cation. We will neglect this factor and assume that the precipitate is
Ni(C4H8N2O2)2, which has a molar mass of 291 gmol1. The mass of precipitate formed will be:
mass ppt = (6.90 104 mol)(291 gmol1) = 0.201 g
This mass is a bit larger than the largest mass observed in the study reported here. This is the
result we expect, because this is the product of the reaction with stoichiometrically equivalent
amounts of the reactants.
Check This 6.15. [H3O+(aq)] in 0.1 M ethanoic acid solution
(a) The pH of 0.1 M ethanoic acid in Investigate This 6.13 is shown above as 2.6. This pH
corresponds to [H3O+(aq)] = 10pH M = 102.6 M = 3 10-3 M, which is less than the 0.1 M
concentration of ethanoic acid. Ethanoic acid does not donate all its protons to water to form
hydronium ions. We, therefore, classify ethanoic acid as a weak acid.
(b) The molecular level diagrams from the Web Companion, Chapter 6, Section 6.4, page 2, are
reproduced here:
For hydrochloric acid, we said that all of the protons from HCl are transferred to water
molecules to form H3O+ and Cl ions. In the left-hand diagram here, all the HA molecules have
transferred their proton to water to form H3O+ and A ions. Thus, this diagram represents the
result of a strong acid interaction with water. In part (a), we found that only a small fraction of
ethanoic acid molecules transfer their protons to water to form H3O+ and ethanoate ions. This is
like the right-hand diagram here, where only one-fifth of the HA molecules have transferred
their proton to water. This diagram represents the result of a weak acid interaction with water.
Check This 6.16. Fraction of proton transfer between ethanoic acid and water
In Check This 6.15(a) we found that [H3O+(aq)] = 3 10-3 M = 0.003 M in a solution to which
enough ethanoic acid is added to make its concentration 0.1 M. The fraction of ethanoic acid
that transfers a proton to water is (0.003 M)/(0.1 M) = 0.03 = 3/100 = 3%.
59
Chapter 6
Chemical Reactions
60
Chemical Reactions
Chapter 6
The charge density models shown here are the acids formed by addition of a proton to each of
the Lewis bases in expression (6.24). Electrons on atoms with high electronegativity are held
more tightly. Thus, they are less available for donating to form a bond with a proton with the
result that the proton is more easily transferred to another Lewis base. This effect is shown in
these Lewis acids as we see the increasingly positive (blue color) hydrogen ends of these
molecules as period two atomic center goes from carbon to fluorine. The more positive the
hydrogen, the easier it is to transfer it, which means that the corresponding Lewis base is
weaker (less able to hold the proton). Expression (6.24) shows that fluoride ion, F, is the
weakest Lewis base in this group and the methide ion, CH3, is the strongest base of the group,
just as these charge density models predict.
(b) Based on the electronegativities of the third period atoms, we would predict this order of
basicities: (most basic) :PH2 > :SH > :Cl (least basic). This is because electrons on atoms
with high electronegativity are held more tightly and are less available for donating to form a
bond with a proton. Acidities for the conjugate Lewis acids go in the opposite order: (least
acidic) HPH2 < HSH < HCl (most acidic). The Lewis bases :PH2 and :SH are included in
Table 6.2. Their relative basicities are in the order we predicted on the basis of
electronegativities, so we have some confidence that our prediction for the relative basicity of
PH2 is also correct.
Check This 6.29. Relative Lewis base strengths
We predict :PH3 to be a weaker base than :NH3 because the phosphorus atom is larger than the
nitrogen atom. The phosphorus valence electrons occupy more space than those in nitrogen and
are, therefore, more stable and less able to act as proton acceptors.
Check This 6.32. Relative basicities of ethanoate, ethoxide, and hydroxide anions
(a) The rankings in Table 6.2 are consistent with the conclusions about the relative basicities. If
water and ethanol have the same acid strength, the ethoxide anion and hydroxide anion will
have the same base strength and they are adjacent in Table 6.2. Ethanoate (acetate) ion is further
down the list in Table 6.2 and is a weaker base than both the ethoxide and hydroxide ions.
(b) Lewis structures for hydroxide, ethoxide, and ethanoate anions are:
61
Chapter 6
Chemical Reactions
H
C
H
O
C
H
O
O
C
O
There are two equivalent Lewis structures for the ethanoate anion. This means that electrons on
the oxygen atoms are delocalized through its pi orbitals. Since the electrons are delocalized,
they are more stable and less able to act as proton acceptors, which explains why the ethanoate
ion is a weaker base than the hydroxide and ethoxide ions.
Check This 6.33. Relative basicities of oxyanions and acidities of oxyacids
(a) Cyclohexanoxide anion and the ethoxide anion do not contain any pi bonds, so there is no
delocalization of pi electrons and they should be about equivalent in basicity. The phenoxide (or
phenolate) anion and ethanoate anion contain pi bonds so there can be delocalization in both
anions. The charge density models for cyclohexanoxide and phenoxide in the Web Companion,
Chapter 6, Section 6.5, page 2, clearly show the delocalization of the negative charge (red color)
into the pi-bonded ring in the phenoxide. The pi electrons of the weaker bases (phenoxide anion
and ethanoate anion) are delocalized, which stabilizes the anions and makes them weaker bases
because they are less able to act as proton acceptors. Table 6.2 shows that both phenoxide
(phenolate) anion and ethanoate anion are less basic than ethoxide anion (and, by analogy,
cyclohexanoxide anion as well).
(b) Lewis structures for the reaction of carbonic acid transferring a proton to water are:
O
HO
OH
HO
O
HO
and
O
HO
(c) The relative acidities of carbonic acid and ethanoic acid should be similar, because their
anions probably have about the same basicity. Both anions have pi electron delocalization over
two oxygen atoms bonded to a carbon atom. This prediction is consistent with the information
in Table 6.2, where the acids (and bases) are listed next to each other.
Check This 6.35. Acidbase properties of bleach solutions
The hypochlorite ion is a Lewis base that reacts with water to form hypochlorous acid and
hydroxide ion, so it would make bleach solutions basic.
Check This 6.36. Another way to predict relative strengths of oxyacids and oxyanions
(a) For hypochlorous acid, there are zero oxygen atoms doubly bonded to chlorine. For chlorous
acid, there is one oxygen atom doubly bonded to chlorine. For chloric acid, there are two oxygen
atoms doubly bonded to chlorine. For perchloric acid, there are three oxygen atoms double
bonded to chlorine. There is a correlation between these numbers and the relative strengths of the
oxyacids: the more oxygen atoms doubly bonded to the central atom, the stronger the acid.
62
Chemical Reactions
Chapter 6
Conversely, the more oxygen atoms doubly bonded to the central atom, the weaker the conjugate
base.
(b) Hydrogen sulfate has two oxygen atoms doubly bonded to the sulfur and hydrogen sulfite has
one. Using the rule in part (a), we predict that hydrogen sulfate will be a weaker Lewis base than
hydrogen sulfite. This is also what the delocalization of electrons in these ions predicts, because
there are three equivalent Lewis structures for the hydrogen sulfate anion and only two (less
delocalization and less stable) for the hydrogen sulfite anion.
Check This 6.38. Relative acid and base strengths
(a) (weakest base) NO3 < NO2 < CH3CO2 HOCO2 < OH (strongest base). All central
atoms are from the same period in the periodic table. NO3 has greatest amount of delocalization
(three equivalent Lewis structures) and is the weakest base. OH has no delocalization so it will
be the strongest base of this group. CH3CO2, HOCO2, and NO2 all have the same amount of
delocalization (two equivalent Lewis structures). However, nitrogen is more electronegative
than carbon, so the negative charge on the electrons in NO2 will be somewhat less than in
CH3CO2 and HOCO2. Thus, the nitrite, NO2, ion will be a somewhat weaker base than
CH3CO2 and HOCO2, which will have nearly the same base strength.
(b) (strongest acid) HOSO3 > HOSO2 > (HO)2PO2 HOPHO2 (weakest acid). All central
atoms are from the same period (third) in the periodic table. The sulfate ion formed from
HOSO3 has the greatest amount of delocalization (four equivalent Lewis structures), making it
the weakest base and, therefore, HOSO3 the strongest acid of the group. The conjugate bases
formed by the other acids have the same degree of delocalization (three equivalent Lewis
structures), but the central atoms are different. Sulfur is somewhat more electronegative than
phosphorus so the negative charge on the electrons in the conjugate base sulfite will be
somewhat less than in the phosphorus bases, and sulfite will be a weaker base. Conversely, the
hydrogen sulfite anion will be a stronger acid than the phosphorus acids. The phosphorus acids
will have about the same acid strength. (Note that the H bonded directly to the P in HOPHO2 is
not acidic, that is, it does not get transferred to water in aqueous solutions.)
(c) (strongest acid) (HO)2SO2 > (HO)3PO > (HO)2CO (weakest acid). The conjugate base
formed by (HO)2SO2 has the greatest amount of electron delocalization (three equivalent Lewis
structures) compared to the bases formed by the other acids in this list. Although the conjugate
bases formed by (HO)3PO and (HO)2CO have the same degree of electron delocalization (two
equivalent Lewis structures), the phosphorus atom is larger than the carbon atom, which adds to
the delocalization in the conjugate base from (HO)3PO and makes it a stronger acid than
(HO)2CO.
Check This 6.40. Predicting the direction of reaction for acidbase reactions
Use a solution of sodium hydroxide. Table 6.2 shows that OH is a stronger base than phenol, so
the hydroxide ion will win the competition for H+ from phenol. The phenolate anion, which is
more soluble in water than phenol, will be formed.
Check This 6.46. Keeping the shine in your hair
EDTA in shampoo complexes hard water ions (Mg2+, Fe3+, and Ca2+) in the water and prevents
them from reacting with the soaps and/or detergents in the shampoo [as you observed in
Investigate This 6.43(b)]. Without the EDTA, the ions in hard water would form soap scum that
63
Chapter 6
Chemical Reactions
would tend to stick to your hair and you would have to use more shampoo to try to wash it off.
Thus, EDTA makes your shampoo work more effectively and you will use less shampoo.
Check This 6.47. Names and structures of Pt(NH3)2Cl2
Recall the introduction of the prefixes cis- and trans- in Chapter 5, Section 5.9, page 326, and
review the definitions, if necessary. The name cis-Pt(NH3)2Cl2 tells us that the NH3 ligands are
located next to each other (as are the Cl ligands) in the structure, while in trans-Pt(NH3)2Cl2,
they are located across from each other. Check the structures in Figure 6.8 to be sure this
nomenclature makes sense to you.
Check This 6.49. The porphine ring system in chlorophyll and heme
There are 22 electrons in the porphine ring. There are 20 electrons in chlorophyll, and 22
electrons in the heme. (Note that the alternating double and single bonds around the porphine
ring system has one fewer double bonds in chlorophyll because the five-membered ring at the
lower left of the structure in Figure 6.10(a) is missing a double bond that is present in the
uninterrupted electron structure of porphine.)
Check This 6.52. Centers of positive and negative charge in molecules
(a)/(b) Electronegative atoms such as oxygen always have nonbonding electrons that make
them centers for high electron density. Oxygen atoms, in these scenarios, act as Lewis bases.
Carbon atoms that are bonded to these oxygen atoms will have positive centers and thus act as
Lewis acids. The Lewis structures for all the molecules, with partial charges on second period
atoms labeled, are given here:
64
Chemical Reactions
Chapter 6
(a)
OH
C
+
HO
+
C
H
H
(b)
+
C
HO
+ H
P +
OH
H3C
HO
C
+
+
C
C
+
C
OH
+
+
C
C
OH
H
OH
Hydrogen atoms bonded to the oxygen atoms will also be positive centers and, in some of these
molecules, a proton can be transferred to water in aqueous solution, that is, the molecule will be
a Brnsted-Lowry acid.
NOTE to Instructors: However, if an oxygen is attached to a pi orbital network ring, such as
found in salicylic acid, it is a less negative center because its electron density is spread out
through the pi orbital network. In organic chemistry courses, this is usually shown in terms of
quininoid Lewis structures with a double bond to the oxygen atom, which gives it a positive
charge in the non-ionized form. But, based upon electronegativity and electron density
presented in this section, we will label the phenolic oxygen as "-".
Check This 6.53. More nucleophile-electrophile reactions
(a) The functional group that is formed as a product is an ester.
65
Chapter 6
H
Chemical Reactions
H
H
O
CH 3
CH3
H
O
H
CH 3
O
O
H
O
O
C
C
+
H
O C
O
C
O
CH 2CH2OH
The nucleophile with high negative charge density (red) at the nitrogen is the amine and the
electrophile with high positive charge density (blue) at the carboxylic acid carbon is the
carboxylic acid. The red arrow is our usual representation of the movement/rearrangement of
electrons in reactions.
(b) The reaction to form nylon-66 can be represented as:
O
HO
nylon-66
66
nH2O
Chemical Reactions
Chapter 6
The polymer is called nylon-66 because there are six carbon atoms from each dicarboxylic acid
molecule (two acid groups in the same molecule) and six carbon atoms from each diamine
molecule (two amine groups in the same molecule). The first step in this reaction is the one
represented in the Web Companion, Chapter 6, Section 6.7, page 1 [although the loss of a water
molecule when the amide bond, C(O)-NH, is formed is not shown in the Companion as it is
for the ester bond formation in equation (6.35)]. Since one end of the initial product still has an
amine group and the other end a carboxylic acid group, further reaction occurs to add more
molecules of the reactants (producing a water molecule for each amide bond formed). A final
product molecule of, nylon-66, incorporates n molecules of the dicarboxylic acid plus n
molecules of the diamine, and produces n molecules of water.
(c) The reaction, actually two sequential reactions, represented in Figure 1.30 are related to the
reactions discussed in this section, especially the amine-carboxylic acid reaction in this activity.
The reactions in Figure 1.30 are the reactions of amino acids to form a chain of amino acids
connected by amide bonds, which is the primary structure of protein molecules. The difference
between the amino acid condensation reactions and the ones in this section is that each amino
acid has both a nucleophilic site, the lone pair of electrons on the amine nitrogen, and an
electrophilic reactive site (the positively polarized carbon of the carboxylic acid). Look, again,
at Figure 1.30 and see how the chain can be extended at either end by nucleophile-electrophile
reactions to form further amide bonds with more amino acids.
Check This 6.56. Water as a nucleophile
The hydrolysis reaction for this amide can be represented as:
O
H2O
CH3CH2C
CH3CH2C
O
H
O
CH3CH2C
OH
CH3CH2C
H
H
NCH2 CH2 CH2 CH3
H
P
OH
67
Chapter 6
Chemical Reactions
1 0
2 0
+1
The two structures on the left have one atom with a 1 formal charge, which is the least we can
have, since this is a 1 ion. The negative formal charge is on an electronegative atom in each
case, which is where we expect negative charge to be. The structure on the right involves
multiple atoms with formal charge (other than zero), one of which is 2. The most stable species
have as few atoms with formal charge as possible. This structure is much higher in energy than
the other two and we can neglect it when considering the stability of the cyanate ion. The two
Lewis structures we wrote for the isocyanate ion in Consider This 6.59(a) are:
1 +1 1
C N O
2 +1 0
C N O
These structures have multiple atoms with formal charge, one of which is 2. Both of these
structures will be of higher energy than the two lower energy structures for cyanate, so we
conclude that the isocyanate ion is less stable (higher energy) that the cyanate. (Indeed, under
appropriate conditions, isocyanates rearrange to form cyanates.)
NOTE: Since the oxygen atom is more electronegative than the nitrogen atom, the cyanate
structure on the left will have a somewhat lower energy than the one in the center. Thus, these
two Lewis structures are not strictly equivalent, but they are probably close enough in energy to
suggest that the pi electrons will be delocalized over all three atoms (although likely to have
somewhat higher density at the oxygen end compared to the nitrogen end). Delocalization will
lower the energy of this ion. All five of these Lewis structures predict that both the cyanate and
isocyanate ion are linear, because the central atom has two bonding sigma orbitals to the
flanking atoms.
(b) Table 6.3 includes these correlations. When there is one bond to an oxygen atom (and six
nonbonding electrons), the atom has a 1 formal charge. When there are two bonds to an
oxygen atom (and four nonbonding electrons), the atom has a zero formal charge When there
are three bonds to an oxygen atom (and two nonbonding electrons), the atom has a +1 formal
charge.
(c) The formal charges on the atoms in the chlorite ion structure written in this activity (on the
left here) and in the structures you wrote in Consider This 6.34(a) (on the right here) are:
1
+1
1
O Cl O
0
O
0 1
Cl O
1 0
O
Cl O
Since this is a 1 ion, at least one of the atoms in the ion must have a 1 formal charge. The
structure on the left, however, has a non-zero formal charge on all three atoms, while the ones
on the right have zero formal charge on two of the atoms. Stable species usually have as many
atoms with zero formal charge as possible. The structures on the right (the ones we wrote
previously) satisfy this criterion, so we conclude that this structure with lower formal charge
and delocalized pi electrons is the more stable structure for the chlorite ion.
68
Chemical Reactions
Chapter 6
NOTE 1: Just as we divided up the pi electrons among the bonds in molecules with delocalized
pi orbitals (see Chapter 5, Section 5.7, pages 312-313) to get effective bond orders, we can
divide up the formal charge in these structures with more than one equivalent Lewis structure.
In the case of the chlorite ion, the average formal charge on each of the oxygen atoms is 1/2
in the delocalized structure represented by the two structures on the right here. This spreading of
the charge among the atoms is a favorable factor.
NOTE 2: Some other texts, including organic textbooks, use the Lewis structure written on the
left here, that preserves the octet of electrons on all possible atoms in the structure. It is clear
from the behavior of third period elements in other compounds that they do not necessarily obey
the octet rule (which only seems to apply to C, N, O, and F atoms too small to accommodate
more than four sigma bonding orbitals), so accommodating more than an octet in these oxyacids
is not strange. In Lewis Structures in General Chemistry: Agreement Between Electron
Density Calculations and Lewis Structures, J. Chem. Educ. 2001 78, 981, Gordon H. Purser
found that calculations of electron densities in the bonds between O and central P, S, and Cl
atoms were consistent with the bond orders predicted from Lewis structures that minimize
formal charges. That is, the calculations are consistent with the delocalization represented by the
structures shown on the right above. These results further reinforce the idea that delocalization
of electron waves has a powerful energy lowering (stabilizing) effect on molecules and ions.
(d) The Lewis structures and formal charges for the chlorate and perchlorate anions in which the
chlorine atom is constrained to have only an octet of electrons are:
1
+2
O
Cl
O
1
O
1
+3
1
O Cl
O
O
We chose to correlate base strength with the structures written in Consider This 6.34, rather than
those here, because there is an inverse correlation between the number of equivalent Lewis
structures (hence the amount of delocalization of the electrons) and the base strength that allows
us to make predictions about base strengths. There is no such correlation with these structures.
If the way we visualize molecules and ions does not help in predicting the observable properties
of the compounds, then it is not a very useful visualization. See, also, NOTE 2 in part (c) for
more reason not to use the structures written here.
Check This 6.65. Balancing simple reductionoxidation reaction expressions
Mg2+(aq) + Cu(s) Mg(s) + Cu2+(aq)
(a)
We see that there are the same number of magnesium and of copper species on each side of the
equation, so the atoms (mass) balance. The net charge on the left is +2 and on the right is also
+2, so the charge balances. The reaction expression is balanced as written.
(b)
Fe3+(aq) + Sn2+(aq) Fe2+(aq) + Sn4+(aq)
We see that there are the same number of iron and of tin species on each side of the equation, so
the atoms (mass) balance, as written. The net charge on the left is +5 and on the right is +6, so
the charge does not balance. Each Sn2+ loses two electrons to form Sn4+ and each Fe3+ gains one
electron to form Fe2+, so, we have enough electrons to reduce two Fe3+ for each Sn2+ oxidized.
Thus, to balance the equation we write:
2Fe3+(aq) + Sn2+(aq) 2Fe2+(aq) + Sn4+(aq)
ACS Chemistry FROG
69
Chapter 6
Chemical Reactions
This equation is still balanced in atoms and now the net charge on each side is the same, +8, so
the equation is balanced.
(c)
Zn(s) + H+(aq) Zn2+(aq) + H2(g)
The zinc species on each side of the equation balance, but there are two H atoms on the right
and only one on the left. To balance the hydrogen atoms we write:
Zn(s) + 2H+(aq) Zn2+(aq) + H2(g)
In this equation, the atoms balance and the net charge on each side is +2, so the equation is
balanced.
Check This 6.69. Oxidation numbers for elements and monatomic ions
(a) Fe(s) is an elemental atom, all of which have a zero charge and an oxidation number of 0.
Fe3+(aq) is a monatomic ion, all of which have oxidation numbers equal to their charge, so it has
an oxidation number of +3. Chlorine, Cl2(g), is an elemental species, so the atoms in a molecule
of the element have oxidation numbers of 0. The chloride ion, Cl(aq), is a monatomic ion, all
of which have oxidation numbers equal to their charge, so it has an oxidation number of 1.
(b) The reasoning for all the molecules and ions in this part is the same as in part (a). V4+(aq)
has an oxidation number of +4. H(g) has an oxidation number of 1. P4(s) (an element) has an
oxidation number of 0. N2(g) (an element) has an oxidation number of 0. Na+(aq) has an
oxidation number of +1.
Check This 6.70. The procedure and the definition of oxidation number
Since the inner shell electrons never take part in electron transfer reactions and always remain in
their atomic core, there is the same number of core electrons in an atom of an element and in
any ion of that element. Thus, when we take the difference between the number of electrons in
the atom and the number in the ion, the number of core electrons cancels out of the calculation
and only the change in number of valence electrons needs to be accounted for.
Check This 6.72. Assigning oxidation numbers
Lewis structures with electrons assigned according to the procedure for determining oxidation
numbers are shown here with the oxidation number of each atom labeled. Check in each case
that the sum of the oxidation numbers equals the overall charge on the molecule or ion.
70
Chemical Reactions
Chapter 6
2
+1
H
+1
H
+1
H
+1
H
+1
H
2 O 2
+5
O P O
+1
H
O 2
H +1
H +1
3
2
2 O 2
+5
O P O
+1
H
+1
Cl
Cl
0
Cl
O 2
H0
0
0 0
C
C H
H
0
H
0
H
0
0
H
2
+1
C
O
0
H
0
2
+1
H
0
H
2
+3
C
O
+1
H
This is not an oxidation-reduction reaction. The oxidation numbers for each atom in both the
reactants and products are the same.
(c) The oxidation numbers for the atoms in equation (6.49) are:
+1+
+1 -1
-1
+1 -2
0
H (aq) + H2O2 (aq) + I (aq)
H2O(aq) + I2 (aq)
Reaction (6.49) is an oxidation-reduction reaction. The oxidation numbers of the oxygen and
iodine have changed.
Check This 6.75. Oxidation number for oxygen in peroxides
For the bonds between oxygen and hydrogen atoms in HOOH, the oxygen atoms will be
assigned the two bonding electrons because oxygen is more electronegative than hydrogen. The
two oxygen atoms will each be assigned one electron from the electron-pair bond between them.
Each oxygen atom will have seven valence electrons (its four nonbonding electrons plus two
from the OH bond plus one from the OO bond) and, therefore, a 1 oxidation number (+6
charge on the atomic core minus 7 valence electrons).
71
Chapter 6
Chemical Reactions
72
Chemical Reactions
Chapter 6
Each O gains one electron and each I loses one electron in the reaction. Thus the gain and loss
of electrons are balanced, but the atoms are not. In order to balance O, there must be two H2O
molecules in the products. In order to balance I, there must be two I in the reactants. If we
make these changes, the gain and loss of electrons will still balance, but we will need two H (as
H+) on the reactant side to balance Hs. The final balanced equation with gain and loss of
electrons show is:
gain 2 electrons
H2 O2 (aq) + 2I (aq) + 2H+ (aq) 2H2 O(l) + I2 (aq)
lose 2 electrons
(c) Equation (6.57) is already balanced in atoms and in overall charge with a net 4 charge on
each side of the reaction. To show the balance in terms of the oxidation number changes
requires us to assign oxidation numbers to the sulfur atoms in the reactants and products. There
are two ways to do this. (1) Using the definition of oxidation numbers we assign all electrons
from SO bonds to the Os, which will all have ON = 2, and divide the electrons in SS bonds
equally between the two Ss. For the thiosulfate ion reactant, this gives the central S an ON = +5
and the other S and oxidation number of 1. The sum of the ONs is 2 (= 6 +5 1), which is
the charge on the ion, as it must be. Similarly, the Ss in the product that are bonded to O have
ON = +5 and the two Ss in the center of the ion have ON = 0. Thus, there is a oxidation of one S
in thiosulfate from 1 to 0 in the reaction. Since two thiosulfates react, the overall oxidation
change is the loss of two electrons by the two Ss. These electrons are gained by I2 as it is
reduced to two I. (2) Using the rules in Table 6.5, we assign all the Os an ON = 2. For the
thiosulfate reactant, the application of rule 6 requires that the two Ss have a combined ON = +4.
(Note that this combined ON is the net of the ONs for the individual Ss we assigned from the
definition of ON.) A similar argument for the product ion gives the four Ss a combined
ON = +10. Since two thiosulfate ions react, their four Ss have an overall ON = +8, so the Ss are
oxidized, and they lose two electrons going from reactants to products. The result, showing the
gain and loss of electrons in the balanced reaction is:
gain 2 electrons
2-
O
2
S
O
+ I2(aq)
(aq)
S
O
2-
O
S
S
O
+ 2I-(aq)
(aq)
lose 2 electrons
Check This 6.83. Balancing redox equations by the half-reactions method
(a) The oxidation numbers for Fe and Cr are different in the reactants and products, indicating an
oxidation-reduction reaction occurred.
(1) Write half reactions with appropriate stoichiometric coefficients for redox species:
Fe2+(aq) Fe3+(aq) + e
Cr2O72(aq) + 6e 2Cr3+(aq)
+
(2) Add waters and H :
73
Chapter 6
Chemical Reactions
Fe2+(aq) Fe3+(aq) + e
Cr2O72(aq) + 14H+(aq) + 6e 2Cr3+(aq) + 7H2O(l)
(3) Balance electrons:
6Fe2+(aq) 6Fe3+(aq) + 6e
Cr2O72(aq) + 14H+(aq) + 6e 2Cr3+(aq) + 7H2O(l)
(4) Add half reactions together:
6Fe2+(aq) + Cr2O72(aq) + 14H+(aq) 6Fe3+(aq) + 2Cr3+(aq) + 7H2O(l)
(b) The Os in the hypochlorite ion and water have ON = 2 and the Cl in the hypochlorite ion
has ON = +1. The products, O2 and Cl2, are elements whose atoms have ON = 0. The O is
oxidized and the Cl is reduced, so this is a reduction-oxidation reaction.
(1) Write half reactions with appropriate stoichiometric coefficients for redox species:
2H2O(l) O2(g) + 4e
2OCl(aq) + 2e- Cl2(g)
+
(2) Add waters and H :
2H2O(l) O2(g) + 4H+(aq) + 4e 2OCl(aq) + 4H+(aq) + 2e- Cl2(g) + 2H2O(l)
(3) Balance electrons:
2H2O(l) O2(g) + 4H+(aq) + 4e 4OCl(aq) + 8H+(aq) + 4e- 2Cl2(g) + 4H2O(l)
(4) Add half reactions together and cancel redundant species:
4OCl(aq) + 4H+(aq) 2Cl2(g) + O2(g) + 2H2O(l)
(c) Follow the procedure we have been using.
(1) Write half reactions with appropriate stoichiometric coefficients for redox species:
2I(aq) I2(aq) + 2e
2IO3(aq) + 10e I2(aq)
(2) Add waters and H+:
2I(aq) I2(aq) + 2e
2IO3(aq) + 12H+(aq) + 10e I2(aq) + 6H2O(l)
(3) Balance electrons:
10I(aq) 5I2(aq) + 10e
2IO3(aq) + 12H+(aq) + 10e I2(aq) + 6H2O(l)
(4) Add half reactions together and cancel redundant species:
10I(aq) + 2IO3(aq) + 12H+(aq) 6I2(aq) + 6H2O(l)
(4a) Divide by 2 to reduce stoichiometric coefficients to their lowest possible values:
5I(aq) + IO3(aq) + 6H+(aq) 3I2(aq) + 3H2O(l)
Check This 6.85. Balancing redox equations in basic solution
(a) After reaction (6.69) is balanced by the oxidation number method (for neutral or acidic
solution), the conversion to reaction in basic solution is done just as it is in Worked Example
6.84 where the reaction was balanced by the half-reaction method. First we write the reaction
showing the species that are oxidized and reduced, their products, and the electron change per
atom undergoing the change:
gain 1 electron
74
Chemical Reactions
Chapter 6
gain 2 electrons
Cl2 (g) + Cl 2(g) + 2H2 O(l) 2OCl (aq) + 2Cl(aq) + 4H+ (aq)
lose 2 electrons
When we collect the Cl2(g) together, we will get equation (6.70) in Worked Example 6.84 and
the rest of the problem proceeds just as it does there. [You may divide through by 2 at this point,
rather than after the OH(aq) is added, but the final result, equation (6.71) will be the same.]
(b) No method is suggested, so we may balance this reaction (in neutral or acidic solution) by
whichever method we prefer; well use the half-reaction method here:
(1) Write half reactions with appropriate stoichiometric coefficients for redox species:
Mn2+(aq) MnO2(s) + 2e
H2O2(aq) + 2e 2H2O(l)
(2) Add waters and H+:
Mn2+(aq) + 2H2O(l) MnO2(s) + 4H+(aq) + 2e H2O2(aq) + 2H+(aq) + 2e
2H2O(l)
(3) Add half reactions together and cancel redundant species:
H2O2(aq) + Mn2+(aq) MnO2(s) + 2H+(aq)
(4) Add two OH(aq) to each side and react them with H+(aq) to form water:
H2O2(aq) + Mn2+(aq) + 2OH(aq) MnO2(s) + 2H2O(l)
gain 1 electron
Ag+ (aq) + CH2O(aq) Ag(s) + HC(O)OH(aq)
lose 2 electrons
Well combine balancing the oxidation and reduction with the addition of water and hydronium
ion to balance the O and H (in that order). Add an H2O(l) to the reactants to balance O and two
H+(aq) to the products to balance H:
gain 2 electrons
2Ag+ (aq) + CH2O(aq) +H2 O(l) 2Ag(s) + HC(O)OH(aq) + 2H+ (aq)
lose 2 electrons
Add two OH(aq) to each side, react them with H+(aq) to form water, and cancel redundant
water to get equation (6.74):
2Ag+(aq) + CH2O(aq) + 2OH(aq) 2Ag(s) + HC(O)OH(aq) + H2O(l)
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Chapter 6
Chemical Reactions
(b) Methanoic acid should react in basic solution to transfer a proton to hydroxide ion to form
water and methanoate anion:
HC(O)OH(aq) + OH(aq) HC(O)O(aq) + H2O(l)
(c) Adding the reaction in part (b) to the final reaction in part (a) gives the overall reaction of
methanal with silver ion in basic solution:
2Ag+(aq) + CH2O(aq) + 3OH(aq) 2Ag(s) + HC(O)O(aq) + 2H2O(l)
Check This 6.90. Oxidation numbers for carbons in glucose fermentation
H
OH
H
C +1
+1
+1
OH
+4
+2
C +1
+1 +1C
C
HO
OH
H
HO
H
OH
O
C
H
H
C
H
C
C
O
H
H
2H
O
H
H
H
(aq)
+ 4H+ (aq) + 4e
C
O
(aq)
Equation (6.76)
For equation (6.77), we show only the central part of the NAD+ and NADH molecules because
this is where the reduction-oxidation reaction occurs. In this condensed structure, each
intersection of a line or end of a line represents a C and we see that 7 Cs are shown on both
sides of the reaction as well as one N on both sides. Only one H is shown bonded to the ring, but
there are three more at each of the vertices to which nothing is attached in these drawings. Thus,
five Hs (including H+) are represented on each side of the equation and it is balanced in atoms.
Counting up the two electron bonds on the left, we have 12 electron pairs, 24 electrons, in the
76
Chemical Reactions
Chapter 6
molecular structure. There are two more that are used to reduce the ring, for a total of 26
electrons on the left. On the right, there are, again, 12 electron pair bonds plus a nonbonding
pair, for a total of 26 electrons, so the equation is balanced in electrons.
H
+ H+(aq) + 2e
+
(aq)
(aq)
Equation (6.77)
77
Chapter 6
Chemical Reactions
(b) The color change is red to colorless. When the ethylenediamine has all reacted with added
hydronium ion (from the hydrochloric acid), there will be no base left in the solution to accept
protons from water, so the solution will no contain a high enough concentration of hydroxide
ion to make the phenolphthalein red. It will change to its colorless form in low pH solutions.
Reaction (6.80) shows that two moles of hydronium ion react with each mole of
ethylenediamine. The number of moles of hydronium ion added to make the indicator change
color, that is, to react with all the ethylenediamine is:
mol H+(aq) = (.0250 L)(0.500 molL1) = 0.0125 mol
The number of moles of ethylenediamine that have reacted is:
1 mol en
1
= (0.0125 mol) = 0.00625 mol
mol en(aq) = {mol H+(aq)}
2 mol H+
2
The concentration of ethylenediamine in the original solution is:
0.00625 mol
[en(aq)] =
= 0.125 M
0.0500 L
Check This 6.100. Ascorbic acid oxidation
[NOTE: There is an error in equation (6.82) in the textbook. The structure of dehydroascorbic
acid should have a single bond between the carbons within the oval, as here:
H O
H
H
O
C
O C
C
C O H
H
C C
H
H O
O H (aq)
H O
H
H
O
C
O C
C
C O H
H
C C
H
(aq)
O
O
2H+(aq) + 2e
The answer here will assume the correct structure, since the problem is incorrect without this
change.]
(a) The two carbon atoms in the ovals in equation (6.82) are oxidized from +1 to +2 oxidation
numbers. If we count the number of electron pairs within the oval on the left (reactant) side of
the equation, we find that there are 10 pairs (6 pairs in bonds and 4 nonbonded pairs). On the
right (product) side of the equation, there are 9 pairs (5 pairs in bonds and 4 nonbonded pairs).
The lost electrons are the 2e.
(b) Using line formulas for ascorbic and dehydroascorbic acids, the balanced reaction with
iodine is:
C6H8O6(aq) + I2(aq) C6H6O6(aq) + 2I(aq) + 2H+(aq)
78