http://www.chem-toddler.com/chemical-equilibrium/chromatedichromate.

html
Chromates and dichromates are salts of chromic and dichromic acid. Salts have an intense yellow or orange
color, respectively.
When solid potassium dichromate (K2Cr2O7) is dissolved in water the resulting solution is orange. The
dichromate ion in aqueous solution is in equilibrium with the chromate ion, and this can be shown with the
following equation:

This is a dynamic equilibrium and as such is sensitive to the acidity or basicity of the solution. Shifting the
equilibrium with pH changes is a classic example of Le Chateliers principle at work.
Le Chatelier's principle states that if a chemical dynamic equilibrium is disturbed by changing the
conditions (concentration, temperature, volume or pressure), the position of equilibrium moves to counteract
the imposed change. So if more reactant is added, the equilibrium shifts to the right in order to consume that
extra reactant, which results in more product; also if the product is removed from the system, the equilibrium
shifts to the right completely increasing the yield.
Yellow chromate and orange dichromate are in equilibrium with each other in aqueous solution. The more
acidic the solution, the more the equilibrium is shifted to the left towards the dichromate ion. As hydrochloric
acid is added to the chromate solution, the yellow color turns to orange. Increasing the hydrogen ion
concentration is shifting the equilibrium to the left in accordance with Le Chatelier's principle, where we
expect the reaction to try remove some of the H+ we have added by reacting with the CrO42-, and yielding
more Cr2O72- which we observe as color change.
When sodium hydroxide is added to the dichromate solution, the orange color turns back to yellow,
hydroxide ions react with hydrogen ions forming water, driving the equilibrium to the right (OH - removes
H+ ions by neutralizing them and the system acts to counteract the change) and further shifting the color. We
can observe that the addition of hydroxide ions promotes the conversion of dichromate to chromate.
Acids and bases are added to a system so as to shift the position of a chemical equilibrium. The ions have
different colors, so that changes are detected visually. Yellow chromate ion turns orange by addition of acid,
while the orange dichromate in reaction with bases turns yellow. The equilibrium depends on the acidity of the
solution, so the color in this case is pH dependent.
Successive addition of sodium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid causes alternative changes in solution color,
during which the color intensity fades due to dilution.
The addition of concentrated acids, such as sulfuric acid into chromate/dichromate solution causes further
shifting of the equilibrium, and more intense colors, turning the solution to carmine-red.
If we add some barium nitrate (Ba(NO3)2) to chromate/dichromate solution, NO3- acts as a spectator ion,
not effecting the reaction. On the other hand Ba2+ reacts with the chromate CrO42- forming an insoluble salt
BaCrO4, while BaCr2O7 does not precipitate. So the more CrO42- there is, or the higher the pH is, the greater the
amount of precipitate would form.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitric_acid
Reactions with metals[edit]
Nitric acid reacts with most metals but the details depend on the concentration of the acid and the nature of the
metal. Dilute nitric acid behaves as a typical acid in its reaction with most
metals. Magnesium, manganeseand zinc liberate H2. Others give the nitrogen oxides.[8]

Nitric acid can oxidize non-active metals such as copper and silver. With these non-active or less electropositive
metals the products depend on temperature and the acid concentration. For example, copper reacts with dilute
nitric acid at ambient temperatures with a 3:8 stoichiometry.
3 Cu + 8 HNO3 3 Cu2+ + 2 NO + 4 H2O + 6 NO3
The nitric oxide produced may react with atmospheric oxygen to give nitrogen dioxide. With more
concentrated nitric acid, nitrogen dioxide is produced directly in a reaction with 1:4 stoichiometry.
Cu + 4 H+ + 2 NO3 Cu2+ + 2 NO2 + 2 H2O
Upon reaction with nitric acid, most metals give the corresponding nitrates. Some metalloids and metals
give the oxides, for instance, Sn, As, Sb, Ti are oxidized into SnO2, As2O5, Sb2O5 and TiO2 respectively.[8]
Some precious metals, such as pure gold and platinum group metals do not react with nitric acid,
though pure gold does react with aqua regia, a mixture of concentrated nitric acid andhydrochloric acid.
However, some less noble metals (Ag, Cu, ...) present in some gold alloys relatively poor in gold such
as colored gold can be easily oxidized and dissolved by nitric acid, leading to colour changes of the
gold-alloy surface. Nitric acid is used as a cheap means in jewelry shops to quickly spot low-gold alloys
(< 14 carats) and to rapidly assess the gold purity.
Being a powerful oxidizing agent, nitric acid reacts violently with many non-metallic compounds and the
reactions may be explosive. Depending on the acid concentration, temperature and the reducing
agent involved, the end products can be variable. Reaction takes place with all metals except the noble
metals series and certain alloys. As a general rule, oxidizing reactions occur primarily with the
concentrated acid, favoring the formation of nitrogen dioxide (NO2). However, the powerful oxidizing
properties of nitric acid are thermodynamic in nature, but sometimes its oxidation reactions are
rather kinetically non-favored. The presence of small amounts of nitrous acid (HNO2) greatly enhance
the rate of reaction.[8]
Although chromium (Cr), iron (Fe) and aluminium (Al) readily dissolve in dilute nitric acid, the
concentrated acid forms a metal oxide layer that protects the bulk of the metal from further oxidation.
The formation of this protective layer is called passivation. Typical passivation concentrations range

from 2050% by volume (See ASTM A967-05). Metals which are passivated by concentrated nitric acid
are Iron, Cobalt, Chromium, Nickel, and Aluminium.[8]

http://www.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_reaction_between_lead_and_conc
entrated_nitric_acid
What is the reaction between lead and concentrated nitric acid?
The actual reaction is:
Pb(s) + 4HNO3(aq) -----> Pb(NO3)2(aq) + 2H2O(l) + 2NO2(g)
This is interesting for a number of reasons. Since the activity of lead is less than H2, (The Eo for the
reduction of Pb2+ to the metal is -0.125 V, compared to the minimum -0.6 V or less that is required) the
reaction cannot occur as a single replacement, e.g.
Pb(s) + 2HNO3(aq) -----> Pb(NO3)2(aq) + H2(g) does not occur. There are really two reactions at work.
1.) HNO3 oxidizes Pb to form PbO:
Pb(s) + 2HNO3(aq) -----> PbO(s) + H2O(l) + 2NO2(g)
Lead is oxidized from 0 to +2 and two moles of N are reduced from +5 to +4. This is a redox reaction.
2.) HNO3 then reacts with PbO and to form Pb(NO3)2:
PbO(s) + 2HNO3(aq) -----> Pb(NO3)2(aq) + H2O(l)
This is a double replacement reaction. This sequence of events is seen (albeit with a change in
stoichiometry) for other some other metals as well, most notably copper and silver.

http://www.chemguide.co.uk/organicprops/alcohols/sodium.html
If a small piece of sodium is dropped into some ethanol, it reacts steadily to give off
bubbles of hydrogen gas and leaves a colourless solution of sodium ethoxide,
CH3CH2ONa. Sodium ethoxide is known as an alkoxide.
If the solution is evaporated carefully to dryness, the sodium ethoxide is left as a white
solid.

Although at first sight you might think this was something new and complicated, in fact it
is exactly the same (apart from being a more gentle reaction) as the reaction between
sodium and water - something you have probably known about for years.
Compare the two:

We normally, of course, write the sodium hydroxide formed as NaOH rather than HONa but that's the only difference.
Sodium ethoxide is just like sodium hydroxide, except that the hydrogen has been
replaced by an ethyl group. Sodium hydroxide contains OH- ions; sodium ethoxide
contains CH3CH2O- ions.