Description of experiment
Below follows a plain text transcript of the selected experiment.
Needed compounds:
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ammonia : NH3
sulphuric acid : H2SO4
sodium nitrate : NaNO3
ammonium thiocyanate : NH4SCN
Class:
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elem=N
redox
Summary:
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Thiocyanate is oxidized by nitrate very violently under the right conditions.
Description:
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Add some solid ammonium thiocyanate to some concentrated H2SO4, 96%: The
solid does not dissolve. It slowly changes color from white to yellow/orange.
Add some solid sodium nitrate: No visible reaction. The crystals of sodium
nitrate only dissolve partially. The appearance of the ammonium thiocyanate
does not change.
Add a few drops of water: A sudden, extremely violent reaction occurs. A
thick white smoke, together with a brown gas mixture is produced. A yellow/
orange solid is produced in the test tube, which sticks to the glass. The
whole mixture almost was thrown out of the test tube.
Add a lot of water: The yellow/orange solid does not dissolve. Some particles
remain sticking to the glass and cannot be removed by simple rinsing.
Decant the water and add some ammonia, 5% NH3: The solid partially dissolves,
the liquid becomes pale yellow.