Chemical Reactions Lab

My lab partner and I investigated what would happen if certain solids and liquids were mixed together, and whether or not it produced a chemical reaction. To use in our investigation we had baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), calcium chloride, water, and phenol red. I hypothesized that if we combined these solids and liquids in different ways, then they would sometimes produce chemical reactions because the substances had chemical properties that would make them prone to react with one another. For example, baking soda contains sodium, while calcium chloride contains both calcium and chlorine. I knew that Chlorine, a halogen, reacts with calcium or sodium, as they are alkaline earth and alkali metals respectively. The evidence we found supported my hypothesis. When various chemicals were combined, they produced chemical reactions, which could be identified by signs like change in color, heat produced, or gas production. By combining baking soda, calcium chloride, water, and phenol red in various combinations, you can create chemical reactions. Some combinations of these chemicals produces a reaction while some do not. For example, when mixing calcium chloride and baking soda, nothing happens. However, when combining calcium chloride and water, there is a definite chemical reaction as the mixture will rapidly heat up from 22C° to almost 70C°.

As we already know, chemical reactions can be quite striking when they produce a lot of gas and noise. We definitely saw that during some of these experiments, such as during experiment 6 when the chemicals began fizzing and changing colors. I found myself wondering what kind of reaction two chemicals would have. Most strange was how quickly some of the chemicals released heat, making them feel so warm to the touch I couldn’t hold them for long. That said, some of the reactions seemed pointless, such as in experiment 1 when we mixed two dry