Grade 10 Science
Name: _______________________
Lab – Types of Chemical Reactions
Purpose: to observe and differentiate between the five different types of chemical reactions
Materials, Method, Observations and Analysis:
Reaction A:
1) Tear off a piece of steel wool with a diameter of about 3 cm. Describe the iron (steel wool) and
also the oxygen in air.
2) Use tweezers to dip the piece of steel wool into the beaker of vinegar. (The vinegar is used to
speed up the reaction – it is not a reactant!)
3) Roll the steel wool into a ball, and place a thermometer into the middle of the ball.
4) Place the steel wool and the thermometer into a medium test tube and place in a test tube rack.
Record the initial temperature.
5) Wait for 10 to 15 minutes, and then take a final temperature. Remove the thermometer, and then
use a plastic stirring rod to get the steel wool out of the test tube. Describe any products that may
have appeared.
Description of Reactant
iron is
Description of Reaction
initial temperature:
oxygen is
final temperature:
Description of Product
Word Equation:
Balanced Skeleton Equation:
Type of Reaction:
Reaction B:
1) Fill two test tubes one quarter full with solutions of sodium hydroxide and copper (II) sulfate.
Describe the solutions.
2) Pour the contents of one of the test tubes into the other. Describe the products.
Description of Reactant
copper (II) sulfate solution is
sodium hydroxide solution is
Word Equation:
Balanced Skeleton Equation:
Type of Reaction:
Description of Product
Reaction C:
1) Fill a test tube 1/3rd full of tap water (test tube 1), and a second test tube 1/3rd full of 3 % hydrogen
peroxide (test tube 2). Describe the liquid in test tube 2 (the reaction we are studying).
2) Add a dropper full of iron (III) nitrate to each test tube. Make observations of the reaction that is
occurring in test tube 2. (Iron (II) nitrate is used to speed up the reaction here – it is not a reactant!)
3) Test the gas that is released from test tube 2 with a glowing splint.
4) After all bubbling is complete, compare the colour of the solution in test tube 2 to that in test
tube 1 (in order to guess the second product of the reaction taking place in test tube 2).
Description of Reactant
3 % hydrogen peroxide is
Description of Reaction
Description of Product
glowing splint:
Word Equation:
Balanced Skeleton Equation:
Type of Reaction:
Reaction D:
1) Obtain a piece of calcium carbide on a watch glass. Fill a test tube and large beaker with water and
invert the test tube into the beaker as demonstrated by your teacher. Put the piece of calcium
carbide into the water, and collect the acetylene gas produced in the test tube. Fill the test tube less
than one-fifth full of acetylene gas. Remove the test tube from the water, allowing air to fill the rest
of the test tube. Put your thumb over the test tube and shake well. Describe the acetylene gas and
the oxygen gas that it has been mixed with.
2) Light a splint with the Bunsen burner, and put it into the test tube, with arms outstretched in front
of you. Describe the reaction.
Description of Reactant
acetylene is
oxygen is
Word Equation:
Balanced Skeleton Equation:
Type of Reaction:
Description of Reaction
Reaction E:
1) Obtain a 2 cm length of magnesium ribbon, and sand it with the sandpaper. Describe the
magnesium. Fill a test tube one quarter full with copper (II) sulfate solution. Describe the solution.
2) Place the magnesium into the copper (II) sulfate solution. Describe the reaction and the products.
Description of Reactant
magnesium is
Description of Reaction
Description of Product
copper (II) sulfate solution is
Word Equation:
Balanced Skeleton Equation:
Type of Reaction:
Questions:
1) In Reaction A, was the product ionic or covalent? Draw Lewis Diagrams to illustrate the bonding
that took place in the product, assuming that the Cu+2 ion has been formed.
2) List all the polyatomic ions that were used in this experiment. What is a polyatomic ion?
3) For Reaction B, were the reactants ionic or covalent? Would you expect either of these reactant
solutions to conduct electricity? Explain.
4) In Part A and Part C, vinegar and iron (III) nitrate accelerated the reactions, but was not a reactant
in the reaction. What word do we use to describe a substance this acts this way in a chemical
reaction?
5) When Daniel combusted the acetylene in Part D, he saw traces of blackness on the test tube. This
is caused by an incomplete combustion.
a) What causes an incomplete combustion?
b) What are two common products of an imcomplete combustion?
6) Predict the products of the single displacement reaction that occurs when magnesium is added to
hydrochloric acid (HCl), using a balanced skeleton equation. (Do not include state subscripts here.)
7) Predict the products of the double displacement reaction that occurs when potassium nitrate is
added to calcium chloride, using a balanced skeleton equation. (Do not include state subscripts here.)