THE REDUCING PROPERTY OF AMMONIA
( At b e Y ~
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Submitted by: Robert H. Long, Green Mountain College, Poultney, Vermont 05764 Checked by: Willard D. Houston, Wadsworth High School, Wadsworth, Ohio 44281
PREPARATION
Provide a mixture of 1 g black copper (11) oxide with approximately 0.7 g pulverized ammonium carbonate, a test tube, and a ringstand with clamp.
tion as the reducing action gets underway, a copious amount of water will collect at the cool end of the tube, and residues of red copper(1) oxide and free metallic copper will form a t the reaction site.
DEMONSTRATION
REMARKS
Spread the mixture in a small Pyrex testtube, held or clamped in a horizontal position, so that it is positioned for maximum heating. Heat the contents rather fast over a hot flame until there is no more visible evidence of continuing reaction. Examination of the tube will show an intense reac-
The demonstration may be adapted for a student experiment by using larger quantities of the reactants, collecting the key gas formed, nitrogen, by a delivery tube t o a washing sequence of dilute sulfuric acid followed by one of dilute sodium hydroxide, and finally collecting the nitrogen over water.
Volume 49, Number 2, February 1972
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