D Activity 3: Creating Balance

Balanced reactions & mole rockets

“It will free man from the remaining chains, the chains of gravity which still time him to his planet.” ---
Werner von Braun
In the late sixties and early seventies, a group of
Fig 3.1
scientists and engineers were working to design a
reusable space craft able to carry individuals and,
more importantly, large materials up into space to
build space stations, moon colonies, and pave the
way to Mars. When they looked to power this craft
(Figure 3.1), they relied partially on the chemistry you
will be studying today.
In this activity, you’ll be experimenting with the
properties of oxygen and hydrogen gas. Hydrogen,
the most abundant element in the universe, is a
colorless, odorless gas. It is combustible, which
means that it burns quite readily. Hydrogen gas is
conveniently generated in the lab by the reaction of
zinc metal with hydrochloric acid.
Oxygen, the most abundant element on Earth, is also
a colorless, odorless gas. Oxygen gas supports
combustion, that is, it must be present for combustible
materials to burn. Small-scale quantities of oxygen
gas are conveniently generated in the lab by the
decomposition of hydrogen peroxide. The
decomposition reaction of hydrogen peroxide requires
a catalyst to initiate the reaction. A variety of different
catalysts, including manganese, manganese dioxide,
potassium iodide, and even yeast, have been used in
this reaction. In this lab, yeast will be used to catalyze
the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide and generate
oxygen gas.
The combustion reaction of hydrogen and oxygen is used to produce the
Fig 3.2
explosive energy needed to power the space shuttle (Figure 3.2). The reaction
is also being engineered to serve as a source of continuous energy for fuel
cells in electric vehicles. What factors determine the explosiveness of the
reaction of hydrogen and oxygen? In this lab, we will generate microscale
quantities of hydrogen and oxygen and test their explosive nature, first
separately, then in mixtures of various proportions. The goal in layman’s
terms: find the most “powerful” gas mixture and use it to launch a rocket across
the room!
This activity’s goal in terms of chemistry concepts is to generate hydrogen and
oxygen and determine the optimum ratio for their combustion reaction to give
water. The optimum ratio will be used to calculate the mole ratio for the reaction of hydrogen and oxygen
in a chemical equation. The concept of limiting reactants will be used to explain the results obtained with
various hydrogen/oxygen gas mixtures.

1
P
P R E P A R I N G

WHAT DO YOU THINK? • LE ARNING OBJECTIVES

Set-up in the classroom is a Hoffman Apparatus (also pictured 3.3 as a slightly different set-up that
functions on the same basic principle). Your instructor will explain exactly what is happening with this
apparatus after the rockets have launched. This will allow you to brainstorm a bit before
heading back to the laboratory and before you go for the classroom rocket record!
1. As you may have noticed in the diagram of the external tank on the space shuttle, you’ll
be dealing with oxygen and hydrogen. The Hoffman Apparatus is designed to produce
oxygen and hydrogen gas from water. What side do you think is hydrogen gas? Why?
2. Notice that this reaction requires a large input of energy (supplied by the power supply
attached at the electrodes). Why is this significant?
3. Answer the following questions:
• Write the chemical equation for the single replacement reaction of zinc and
hydrochloric acid to generate hydrogen gas.
• Write the chemical equation for the catalyzed decomposition of hydrogen
peroxide to generate oxygen gas and water. Remember: Since a catalyst is
not really a reactant or product, it is usually written over the arrow.
Share your answers with your group and see if you all know the significance of the questions.
As always, write an objective for this laboratory activity in your lab notebook. Fig 3.3

E
E X P E R I M E N T I N G

G AS GENERATORS & ROCKET LAUNCHING

Part A: Understanding gas generators

1. Microscale gas generators consist of a small
test tube, a rubber stopper, a gas delivery tube, Fig 3.4
and a gas collection bulb. See Figure 3.4(a).
2. Four pipets have been cut for you and
calibrated into 5 divisions (6 parts). Your
instructor will explain this to you in a pre-lab
conversation.
3. Prepare two hydrogen gas generators by
placing a little mossy zinc into the bottom of two
test tubes.
4. Prepare two oxygen gas generators by placing
a very small amount of MnO2(s) into the bottom
of the other two small test tubes.
5. Set the test tubes in a test tube rack over several layers of paper towel.
6. IMPORTANT: DON”T ADD THE OTHER REAGENTS (HCl with Zn or H2O2 with MnO2) UNTIL
DIRECTED TO DO SO IN PART B.

2
Part B: Testing & launching rockets
In Part B you will find the ideal ratio. Keep track of your data in any way you wish – but you’ll need to
know the results on your own qualitative scale (referred to below as a “pop” test).
1. Completely fill a marked pipet bulb with water using your distilled squirt bottle or another pipet.
2. Add 3.0 M hydrochloric acid to the mossy zinc in one of the hydrogen gas generators until the
test tube is half full. Cap the tube with the gas delivery stopper. Note: Wait about 30 seconds
before proceeding to step 2. This will allow time for the air to be purged from the test tube.
3. Place the full bulb over the gas delivery tube to collect the gas by water displacement. As the
bubbles enter the pipet bulb, the water will flow out of the bulb and down the sides of the test tube
to the paper towels.
4. As soon as the bulb is filled with hydrogen, remove it from the gas delivery tube. Leave the hole
facing down at all times to prevent the collected gas from leaking out. Hydrogen is less dense
5. (6 parts H2 : 0 parts O2) Stick the bulb on the launcher and spark. Note what happens in your
notebook. You will keep track of all of the results for tests of various mixtures of gases (this being
the test for pure hydrogen).
6. Add 3% hydrogen peroxide to the MnO2 in just one of the oxygen gas generators until the test
tube is half full. Cap the tube with the gas delivery stopper. Note: Wait about 30 seconds before
proceeding to step 6.
7. (0 parts H2 : 1 parts O2) Repeat steps 1, 3, 4 and 5 to collect oxygen gas and test its properties.
Record the results of its “pop-test.”
8. (5 parts H2 : 1 parts O2) Completely fill a marked pipet bulb with water and place it over the
oxygen gas generator to collect oxygen. When the bulb is one-sixth full of gas, quickly remove it
from the oxygen tube and place it over the hydrogen gas generator. Continue collecting
hydrogen until the bulb is filled with gas. This bulb should contain a 1:5 ratio of oxygen and
hydrogen.
9. Remove the bulb, cap it with a finger, and determine its relative loudness in the “pop-test” as
described above for hydrogen and oxygen. Develop a scale to describe how loud this mixture is
compared to pure hydrogen and pure oxygen. Record the result in your laboratory notebook.
10. Repeat steps 8 – 9 to collect and test other volume ratios (2:4, 3:3, 4:2, 5:1) of oxygen and
hydrogen gas (see the data table). Always collect oxygen first, followed by hydrogen. When
the reaction in one of the gas generators slows down so much that it is no longer useful, fill the
second gas generating tube with liquid (either HCl or H2O2, as appropriate) and use it instead.
Record all results in your notebook.
11. Rank the gas mixtures on a scale from zero to 10 to describe their relative loudness in the “pop-
test.” Let the most “explosive” mixture be a 10, the least reactive gas a zero.
12. Collect various gas mixtures as many times as necessary to determine the optimum ratio of
oxygen and hydrogen for combustion. Note: The pop-test is obviously subjective, but by
repeating it several times with each possible mixture, it should be possible to determine the most
explosive (loudest) gas mixture. Also, play around a bit – what else is a factor here? Collect the
optimum (loudest) gas mixture one more time, and bring it to the launch area. Be sure to keep
your finger over the bulb so as to prevent any gas from leaking out. Carefully and quickly place
the open end of the bulb on the tip of the nail on the launching pad, and step aside as the
instructor uses the Tesla coil to ignite it. How far does the micro mole rocket travel?

3
A
A N A L Y Z I N G

G AS GENERATORS & ROCKET LAUNCHING

Reading: Mole Rockets

Read Zumdahl 9.1 – 9.3

Questions: Mole Rockets

1. Explain the relative loudness of pure oxygen and pure hydrogen in the pop-test.
2. Write a balanced chemical equation for the combustion reaction of hydrogen and oxygen to
give water.
3. Complete the following sentence to describe the number of moles of each reactant involved
in the combustion of hydrogen: moles of hydrogen react with mole of
oxygen to give moles of water.
When the reactants in a mixture are present in the exact mole ratio given by the balanced
chemical equation, all of the reactant should be used up when the reaction is over. There
will be no “leftover” reactants. However, if one of the reactants is present in an amount
greater than its mole ratio, then that reactant cannot react completely, and some of it will be
left over at the end of the reaction.
4. Use the mole ratio of hydrogen to oxygen from Question #3 to determine what happens
when various hydrogen/oxygen gas mixtures are allowed to react. Complete the following
table to indicate which reactant (H2 or O2 or both) is present in excess, and how much of it
will be left over after the combustion reaction is complete. Note: The second one has been
completed as an example.
T abl e 2 .1 : Ex c es s r e a c ta nts
Parts H2 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
Parts O2 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Which Reactant(s)
is present in H2
excess?
How much of that
reactant(s) is left 3
over?

5. Which oxygen/hydrogen gas mixture produced the most explosive mixture? Explain why
this mixture was most explosive.
6. Why do the hydrogen and oxygen gas mixtures in the collection bulb not react as soon as
they are collected? Note: Consider the role of the match and the properties of gas
molecules at room temperature.
7. Using the reaction of Zn reacting with HCl as an example: (1) predict the products of the
following reactions, (2) write the reactions with chemical formulae, and (3) balance the
equations.
a) Zinc + Acetic acid →
b) Magnesium + Hydrochloric acid →
c) Magnesium + Sulfuric acid →

4
 8. For the following, identify the type of reaction and tell what the products are.
a) sodium chloride + lead(II) nitrate →
b) magnesium + fluorine →
c) lithium + aluminum chloride →
d) dihydrogen oxide (water) → oxygen gas + hydrogen gas
e) calcium hydroxide + hydrochloric acid →
9. Write the formulae and balance reactions a – e in question 8.

C R I T I C A L L Y

CT
T H I N K I N G

ME AN? • KNOW? • BELIEVE? • CARE?

What does the activity mean?

Chemistry explains the macroscopic phenomenon (what you observe) with and explanation of what
happens at the nanoscopic level (atoms and molecules) using symbolic structures as a way to
communicate. Explain the meaning of this activity by completing the MNS table.
MACRO NANO SYMBOLIC
When there was not an excess
of hydrogen or oxygen left in
the micromole rocket, the
rocket launched the furthest.

How do I know?
What did your data say was the best ratio for launching the rocket? How does this relate to the
balanced equation?

Why do I believe?
Go back to your Periodic Table lab, Making Copper. In that lab it was stated that for every two atoms
of aluminum, three atoms of copper are made. Also, many noted that the final mixture was less blue
but still had some blue left. First, why does the quantitative statement (2 aluminum atoms for 3
copper atoms) make sense now? Second, what does the evidence that blue was left in the product
mixture tell you about the amounts of the reactants? Explain both briefly.

Why do I care?
How might this fit in your project? Briefly explain how you’d practically use it.