I just finished aswering questions in my text book about double displacement reactions, and decided to try one of my own. I searched the house to find
any available chems and got the following: MgSO4, NaOH, NH4NO3. I wrote the three possible reactions and decided on Na+ + OH- + NH4+ + NO3- ->
NaNO3 + NH3 + H2O.
This was just really a guess, I haven't done chemical equations extensively, but it seemed right.
So I mixed, in small plastic cups, the reactants with H2O to make aqueous solutions of them. I didn't have my scale at the time, so I used about 1.5
tsp of each. Poured both cups slowly into another cup and after about 10 seconds I was starting to be overwhelmed by the ammonia smell.
I did it later with more concentrated amounts and was suprised at the violence in which the NaOH reacted with the water. When I went to mix them again
this time, I got some violent bubbling in the reaction cup, but it subsided in about a second.
Much stonger this time, I was glad I was had a gas mask.
[Edited on 4-3-2007 by baconaut]12AX7 - 4-3-2007 at 01:26
Sounds about right. And mind that NH3 is very soluble in water--getting it to bubble out is a *lot* of free NH3!
TimLevi - 8-3-2007 at 15:03
The heat from the reaction will lower the solubility of ammonia some too.
You should boil the solution (outside or in a fume hood!!) until all the ammonia comes off then continue to boil the water until you are left with
solid NaNO<sub>3</sub>. There may be some Na<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub> contamination but I expect your sodium
nitrate to be reasonably pure. Save your product for use in further experiments.
Congratulations on your first predicted reaction!
EDIT: If you haven't used stoichiometric amounts of your reactants you will have some unreacted material in your product also.
[Edited on 8-3-2007 by Levi]The_Davster - 8-3-2007 at 15:45
You have now gassed youself for the first time! You will be hooked on doing experiments now!
Congrats
If you mix the NaOH and ammonium nitrate as solids and add water you get even more ammonia...I did this to bubble the NH3 through water to make
concentrated ammonia solutions previously to obtaining reagent grade ammonia solution.16MillionEyes - 11-3-2007 at 12:36
What products did you use that contain MgSO4,NaOH and NH4NO3? I don't see how you got that lucky and to find pure compounds like that. I normally look
around anywhere and mostly found mixtures of mixtures of compuounds. Just to tell you something, the best thing I have found around my house is bromic
acid.Darkblade48 - 11-3-2007 at 14:25
Quote:
Originally posted by __________
What products did you use that contain MgSO4,NaOH and NH4NO3? I don't see how you got that lucky and to find pure compounds like that. I normally look
around anywhere and mostly found mixtures of mixtures of compuounds. Just to tell you something, the best thing I have found around my house is bromic
acid.
MgSO4 are simply (dehydrayed) epsom salts that you can purchase at your grocery store.
NaOH is drain opener that you can get at the hardware store.
NH4NO3 is fertilizer that you may be able to pick up at your hardware store.
If you can find bromic acid around your house, these other chemicals shouldn't be too hard to find baconaut - 12-3-2007 at 06:45
Actually, I got the ammonium nitrate from an instant ice-pack. I resealed it with duct tape, I wonder how long it'll stay good .
The sodium hydroxide came from Red Devil lye, fortunately I have an almost full container of the stuff.
Yeah, and as Darkblade said, magnesium sulfate is just epsom salts.YT2095 - 12-3-2007 at 11:37
Quote:
Originally posted by baconaut
Actually, I got the ammonium nitrate from an instant ice-pack. I resealed it with duct tape, I wonder how long it'll stay good .
you`de favored taking it ALL out of the ice pack and storing it in an airtight jar, AN can`t actualy "go off" per se, but it can Puddle and get a
little messy if exposed to humidity in anyway.
in a sealed jar it`s good forever 16MillionEyes - 15-3-2007 at 08:49
It's no wonder then. I barely check hardware stores although I know for sure they seem like good places to get some chemicals now. Thanks.
