HAZARD ANALYSIS
Kinetics of Magnesium &
Hydrochloric Acid
Page 1 of 2
LOCATION
WRITTEN BY:
DATE CREATED
Shaftesbury High School Chemistry
Room 124
Adrian Deakin
March 18, 2013
EXPERIMENT / DEMO
BASIC STEPS
HAZARDS
PREVENTATIVE MEASURES
1. Obtain a strip of magnesium
ribbon and a dropper bottle of
6.0 M hydrochloric acid.
1. Chemical splash hazard
2. Collect a stopwatch, a watch
glass, a glass stir rod, a plastic
wash bottle, a small test tube
in a metal rack filled with 5 mL
of distilled water, scissors, and
a ruler.
3. Carefully cut the magnesium
strip into 6 strips 0.50 cm long.
Make sure all strips are cut
squarely to the exact same
length.
4. In the watch glass prepare a
dilute solution of hydrochloric
acid that is composed of 9
drops of distilled water and 3
drops of 6.0 M HCl. Stir
solution with the glass stir rod
to obtain a uniform
concentration.
5. Carefully drop a strip of
magnesium into the HCl
solution. Begin timing the
reaction as soon as both
reactants are in contact with
each other.
6. When all magnesium has
reacted, stop the timer and
record the reaction time in
seconds in the data table.
7. Carefully pour the solution into
a beaker and carefully rinse
the watch glass with running
water. Dry the watch glass
2. Glassware and poking
hazard
1. Wear safety goggles
over your eyes.
Students working
directly with chemicals
may wear nitrile gloves.
Rinse affected areas
with copious quantities
of tap water and clean
up all spills immediately.
2. Handle glass with care.
Do not place any
materials near the edges
of counters or
cupboards.
3. Sharps hazard
3. Keep fingers away from
cutting surface of
scissors.
Steps 4 through 10. Chemical
splash and glassware hazards
Steps 4 through 10. Wear
safety goggles over your
eyes. Students working
directly with chemicals may
wear nitrile gloves. This
reaction generates a gas
that causes fizzing. Work at
a safe distance from the
reaction. Rinse affected
areas with copious
quantities of tap water and
clean up all spills
immediately. Handle glass
with care. Do not place any
materials near the edges of
counters or cupboards.
HAZARD ANALYSIS
Kinetics of Magnesium &
Hydrochloric Acid
Page 2 of 2
with paper towel. Discard the
paper towel.
8. Repeat steps 4 through 7 for
the remaining trials.
9. Once all data is collected,
discard waste solution in the
chemical waste container and
rinse the beaker carefully
under running water.
10. Clean all glassware carefully
under running water. Put all
remaining chemicals and
equipment away.