Investigating the Chemistry of Group 1 and 2 Elements

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Investigating the Chemistry of Group 1 and 2 Elements

Part 1: Chemistry of Group 2 Elements, Magnesium, Calcium, Strontium and Barium        

Reaction of the Elements with Water

Results Table

c) The reactions of the metals with water becomes gradually more vigorous as you move down Group 2, with magnesium being the least reactive element tested and barium the most reactive tested. It is also possible to see that the metal hydroxide produced when one of the Group 2 metals is added to water becomes more acidic as you move down Group 2 with magnesium hydroxide being the least acidic hydroxide produce and Barium Hydroxide the most acidic hydroxide produced.

Thermal Stabilities of the Carbonates

Results Table

d) The thermal stability of the carbonates of Group 2 elements increases as you move down Group 2 with Magnesium carbonate being the most unstable Group 2 carbonate tested and Barium Carbonate being the most stable Group 2 carbonate tested.

e) The general equation for the thermal decomposition of Group 2 Carbonates, where M stands for a Group 2 element is;

f) Limewater is used as a partially quantitative test for Carbon Dioxide. When Carbon Dioxide is passed through Limewater, Calcium Carbonate is produced in the form of a white precipitate

The appearance of the precipitate acts as a visual indication of the presence of carbon dioxide in the gas produced by a reaction. The test is partially quantitative as the amount of precipitate present i.e. A light precipitate (semi-transparent) or a heavy precipitate (opaque) partially indicates the amount of carbon dioxide released. The exact quantity of carbon dioxide released cannot be given using this test, however it is possible to say that the darker (more opaque/ heavier) the precipitate the more carbon dioxide has been released, and therefore in the case of the experiment the less thermally stable the Metal Carbonate.

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When testing the thermal stability of Magnesium Carbonate observation of the Limewater showed that the Limewater formed a heavy precipitate before turning clear, the presence of clear Limewater suggesting that there was no precipitate and therefore no carbon dioxide released. However continued bubbling of Carbon Dioxide through Limewater once all of the Calcium Hydroxide has reacted to form Calcium Carbonate and water causes the Calcium Carbonate to be converted into the more soluble Calcium Hydrogencarbonate (Ca(HCO3)2).

Solubilities of the Hydroxides and Carbonates

To test the solubilities of the Hydroxides and Carbonates, Sodium Hydroxide \ Carbonate solution ...

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