EXPERIMENT 4

Reaction of halogens with water and sodium hydroxide

NAME: MARIE ESTHER ELIZABETH CHAPMAN MATRIC NO.: CPM0097_2013B BATCH: APRIL INTAKE 2013 (PRE-MED) GROUP: D DATE: 28 MAY 2013 LECTURERS NAME: MR. YUSOFF

Objective 1. To determine the reaction of halogens with water and sodium hydroxide. Introduction The intention of this practical is to determine the properties and reactions of the halogens, a group of reactive non-metals in the periodic table. The halogens or halogen elements are a group in the periodic table consisting of five chemically related elements, Fluorine (F), Chlorine (Cl), Bromine (Br), Iodine (I), and Astatine (At). The group of halogens is the only periodic table group which contains elements in all three familiar states of matter at standard temperature and pressure. All of the halogens form acids when bonded to hydrogen. Most halogens are typically produced from minerals of salts. The middle halogens, that is, chlorine, bromine and iodine, are often used as disinfectants. The halogens are also all toxic. Physical properties of halogens are that the melting points and boiling points of the halogens increase steadily down the group, they are all coloured non metallic elements and the colour gets darker down the group as well as that they are all poor conductors of heat and electricity. Apart from that, the density increases down the group. Chemical properties however are that they are very reactive and that the reactivity decreases down the group. Moreover, they react with water to form acids and they react with sodium hydroxide to form salts and water. In this experiment, this activity compares the colours and pH of three halogens that is Chlorine, Bromine and Iodine in aqueous solution and sodium hydroxide. These halogens react to a small extent with water, forming acidic solutions with bleaching properties. Apparatus and Materials 1. Liquid bromine 2. Liquid chlorine 3. Iodine crystals 4. Distilled water 5. pH paper 6. Dilute sodium hydroxide (0.1M) 7. Test tubes (6 pieces per group) 8. Dropper 9. Test tube rack 10. 5mL measuring cylinder

Procedure Part A Reaction of halogens with water I.) With chlorine. 1. 5ml of distilled water was poured into a clean test tube. A few drops of liquid chlorine were added into this test tube. 2. The solution was then tested with pH paper. All observations were recorded. With bromine. 1. 5ml of distilled water was poured into a clean test tube. A few drops of liquid bromine were added into this test tube. 2. The solution was then tested with pH paper. All observations were recorded. With iodine. 1. 5ml of distilled water was poured into a clean test tube. A small iodine crystal was added into this test tube. 2. The test tube was then closed with a stopper and shaken well. 3. The solution was then tested with pH paper. All observations were recorded.

II.)

III.)

Part B Reaction of halogens with sodium hydroxide I.) Chlorine and sodium hydroxide 1. 5ml of dilute sodium hydroxide was poured into a clean test tube. A few drops of liquid chlorine were added into this test tube. 2. The test tube was then closed with a stopper and shaken well. 3. All observations were recorded. Bromine and sodium hydroxide 1. 5ml of dilute sodium hydroxide was poured into a clean test tube. A few drops of liquid bromine were added into this test tube. 2. The test tube was then closed with a stopper and shaken well. 3. All observations were recorded. Iodine and sodium hydroxide 1. 5ml of sodium hydroxide was poured into a clean test tube. A small iodine crystal was added into this test tube. 2. The test tube was then closed with a stopper and shaken well. 3. All observations were recorded.

II.)

III.)

Diagram

Observation and Results Observations Halogen Reaction with water The liquid chlorine was soluble in water. There was also a colour change on the pH paper from yellow to blue with pH 8. The solution, however, remains colourless. Reaction with sodium hydroxide Chlorine was soluble in sodium hydroxide. There was no colour change for the solution as it remained colourless. The pH of the solution was pH 11 with a colour change of pH paper from yellow to blue. There was no change in colour of the solution but the colour of pH paper changed from yellow to blue. The pH of the solution was pH 11.

Chlorine

Bromine

The liquid bromine was soluble in water. There was no colour change in the solution. However, the colour of the pH paper changed from yellow to orange. The solution was pH 3.

Iodine

The iodine crystal was slightly soluble in water. There was a change of colour in the solution indicating a light brown colour from colourless. The pH paper also had a change of colour from yellow to light yellow with a pH value of 4.

The colour of solution changes from colourless to yellow and the pH paper from yellow to a dark red colour with a pH value of 11.

Discussion (Questions) 1. Chlorine reacted with water to form hydrochloric acid and hypochlorous acid. The colour changed from yellow to blue on the pH paper and was dissolvable in water. The chemical equation is Cl2 + H2O HCl + HClO. Chlorine also reacted with sodium hydroxide to form sodium chloride, sodium chlorate (I) and water. There was no colour change in the solution but had colour change in pH paper from yellow to blue. The chemical equation is Cl2 + 2NaOH NaCl + NaClO + H2O. However, bromine reacted with water to form hydrobromic acid and hypobromous acid. There was no colour change in the solution as bromine dissolved in the solution. However, pH paper showed that there was a colour change from yellow to orange indicating the presence of an acid. The chemical equation is Br2 + H2O HBr + HBrO. Bromine also reacted with sodium hydroxide to form sodium bromide, sodium bromate (I) and water. The solution remained colourless. The pH paper indicated a colour change from yellow to blue. This showed that the solution was alkaline. The chemical equation is Br2 + 2NaOH NaBr + NaBrO + H2O. Apart from that, iodine reacts with water to form hydroiodic acid and hypoiodous acid. The iodine was only slightly soluble in the water and there was a change of colour in the solution from colourless to light brown and a pH paper colour change from yellow to light yellow. The chemical equation is I2 + H2O HI + HIO. Besides that, iodine also reacts with sodium hydroxide to form sodium iodide, sodium iodate (I) and water with a chemical equation I2 + 2NaOH NaI + NaIO + H2O. There was a colour change from colourless to yellow in the solution and a change from yellow to dark red on pH paper. 2. Two properties of halogens other than those observed in this experiment are that they are not good conductors of heat and electricity and that their densities increase down the group. 3. One of the reactivities based on the periodic table is that halogens are one electron short in the outermost (p) shell, therefore, adding an electron creates a stable configuration, hence releases energy. The further up the halogen series, the closer the outer orbit is to the nucleus, hence the greater the attraction and hence the higher the electronegativity of the halogen. As a result, the further up the halogen series, the more the reactivity of the halogens. Apart from that, the reactivity of halogens decreases with increasing atomic size as one goes down the halogen series column. This happens because halogens react primarily by receiving electrons from less electronegative atoms, and the attraction for additional electrons is stronger when there are fewer filled electron shells between the valence electrons and the atomic nucleus.

Own Discussion From this experiment, it could be seen that halogens that react with water form acids. For example, chlorine reacts with water to form hydrochloric acid and hypochlorous acid (Cl2 + H2O HCl + HClO). It could also be seen that halogens react with sodium hydroxide to form salt and water. For example, chlorine reacts with sodium hydroxide to form salt and water (Cl2 + 2NaOH 2NaCl + 2NaClO + H2O). However, there are possible errors in this experiment such as the reading of the pH paper due to impurities contained in the test tube or on the pH paper. For example, the pH value of the products of chlorine and water which was hydrochloric acid and hypochlorous acid was pH 8. It is impossible for acids to have a pH of over 6. As a result, this error could be caused by impurities that had contaminated the reading of the pH paper in the test tube. This error could be overcome by using a well washed test tube to remove impurities and contaminations and a clean pH paper that has not been used as well as a pH meter. Precaution 1. Goggles must be worn when handling chemicals to avoid chemicals to enter the eye. 2. Excess reagents are never to be returned to stock bottles. If taken too much, the excess should be disposed of. 3. Lab coats should always be worn in the lab to avoid chemicals staining clothes. 4. Test tubes should be completely rinsed and washed to avoid any errors while conducting the experiment due to contaminations by previous chemicals. 5. Long hair should be tied back neatly and loose clothing should be secured when working with chemicals in the lab. Conclusion As a conclusion, halogens are very reactive elements because they almost have full shells with only one electron needed to achieve a stable electron configuration. The reactivities of halogens decrease down the group such that chlorine and bromine were able to be dissolved in water whereas iodine could not be. Halogens react with sodium hydroxide to form salts and water and reacts with water to form acids. All in all, this experiment was successful in showing the reactions of halogens with water and sodium hydroxide through the readings and colour changes of pH papers used.

References 1. http://www.buzzle.com/articles/halogens-properties-of-halogens.html 2. http://chemwiki.ucdavis.edu/Inorganic_Chemistry/Descriptive_Chemistry/Main_Grou p_Elements/Group_17%3A_The_Halogens#Introduction 3. http://spmchemistry.myhometuition.com/2013/01/halogens-react-with-sodiumhydroxide.html 4. http://www.rsc.org/learnchemistry/wiki/index.php?title=TeacherExpt:Reactions_of_aqueous_solutions_of_the _halogens&oldid=4682 5. http://www.rsc.org/learnchemistry/wiki/Expt:Reactions_of_aqueous_solutions_of_the_halogens