Chemistry

Kory Clawson

Gen. Chem I

18 April 2012

Professor Hauser

Carbon Dioxide-Flame Reaction

Ever wonder how a fire extinguisher works? Through a series of chemical reactions that will later be explained it becomes clear to see how it works. The key chemical that is used in a fire extinguisher is CO2. CO2 was manipulated in an experiment to show the effects of what it does when it comes in contact with a flame.

The experiment setup consisted of a scoop, baking soda, 6 Molar HCl, candle with handle, 600 mL beaker, filter flask with rubber hose attached, funnel for filter flask, solid rubber stopper, and lighter. The flask with the rubber hose attached to it contains 12 grams of baking soda (NaHCO3). The hose was put into the beaker, and then 25 mL of 6 Molar hydrochloric acid (HCl) was added to the flask. As the chemicals inside the flask began to react a stopper was put on top of the flask to contain the gas that was released from the reaction of the two chemicals. Because the stopper was placed on top of the flask the gas that was released from the chemical reaction had no other place to go but through the hose and into the beaker. At this point in the experiment a candle was lit with a lighter and lowered into the beaker full of gas. Toward the top of the beaker the candle began to flicker and once it got to the bottom the candle eventually went out. The final process of the experiment was placing around 20 mL of distilled water into the beaker, relighting the candle, and lowering it back into the bottom of the beaker. This time the candle remained lit all the way to the bottom and never went out. There is science behind the reason of the flame going out and staying lit in the different scenarios.

When the baking soda and hydrochloric acid mix inside the flask they release a gas. What really is going on in the flask can be shown through this reaction NaHCO3 (s) + HCl (aq) --> NaCl (aq) + H2O (l) + CO2 (g). In this balanced chemical...