Collecting and testing another gas

-Carbon dioxideLast week we showed that when an acid is reacted with a metal, the gas hydrogen is given off. We
test hydrogen with a lighted match and it goes Pop! We also concluded that some other chemical
substance must be left after the reaction, and we devised a reaction formula like this:
ZINC + SULPHURIC ACID

HYDROGEN + ZINC SULPHATE

Zinc and Sulphuric acid were the reactants; hydrogen and zinc sulphate were the products. Nothing
actually disappeared, they simply reacted together and changed themselves around.
Now lets see what happens when we add acid to a carbonate, and find out what is the test for the
gas carbon dioxide.

Collect the following apparatus and chemicals:

APPARATUS

CHEMICALS

Eye protection
Calcium carbonate (marble chips)
(Bunsen burner)
Hydrochloric acid
Test tube
Lime water
Boiling tube with a bung and delivery tube
(Vinegar)
Test tube rack
Wear eye protection.(Baking soda)
Spatula
Stand and clamp
If an acid is added to a carbonate, the gas carbon dioxide should be released. If carbon dioxide is
bubbled through lime water, it turns a milky colour. This is the test for carbon dioxide. The simplest
and safest carbonate to use is marble. The apparatus should be set up like this:

Year 7 2014-2015 Key Stage 3 Science Unit: Reactions

See if you can write a word, reaction formula for what happens when the reactants calcium
carbonate and hydrochloric acid are reacted to make the products carbon dioxide and ..?

FOLLOW-UP INVESTIGATIONS
1

Vinegar and baking soda

Clean out the apparatus and collect more lime water. Use vinegar and baking soda as the
reactants. Is a gas given off? What is the gas?

Heating the marble chips and acid

Clean the apparatus again and set up the first investigation again, but this time heat the tub with
the marble chips and hydrochloric acid. How does the reaction compare to your first
investigation?

Testing a hypothesis
Finally, try to be truly scientific. When you heated the marble chips and acid, the carbon dioxide
should have been given off faster, so that the lime water went milky faster. Let's make a
hypothesis:
Adding heat to the reaction of marble chips with hydrochloric acid makes the reaction go
faster.
Now we should test the hypothesis. That means planning an investigation in the correct way.
Use the planning format and when the plan has been approved, test the hypothesis. The most
important considerations in this investigation are the variables which you must control, such as
heat and volumes or masses of reactants.

John Osborne
March 2015

Year 7 2014-2015 Key Stage 3 Science Unit: Reactions