Chemistry experiment 1 full report discussion draft

2. Na2O(s) + H2O(l) → 2Na+(aq) + 2OH-(aq) (Na2O2 + 2 H2O → 2 NaOH + H2O)

MgO(s) + H2O(l) → Mg(OH)2(s)

SiO2 does not react with water

P4O10(s) + 6 H2O(l) → 4H3PO4(l)

https://alevelchemistry.co.uk/notes/reactions-period-3-elements-oxides/

3. The metallic oxides

 The structures: Sodium, magnesium and aluminum oxides consist of giant
structures containing metal ions and oxide ions. Magnesium oxide is similar in
structure to sodium chloride. The other two oxides have more
complicated possible arrangements.
 Melting and boiling points: There are strong attractions between the ions in each
of the oxides above; breaking these attractions requires much heat energy. These
oxides therefore have high melting and boiling points.
 Electrical conductivity: None of the metallic oxides conduct electricity in the solid
state, but electrolysis is possible when molten. As discussed above, in a molten
state, the oxides conduct electricity because of the movement and discharge of
the ions present. The only industrially-important example of this process is the
electrolysis of aluminum oxide in the manufacture of aluminum. Whether you can
electrolyze molten sodium oxide depends on whether it actually melts (as opposed
to subliming or decomposing under ordinary conditions). If
it sublimes (experiences a solid-to-vapor transition) , no liquid can electrolyze.
Magnesium and aluminum oxides have melting points that are too high for
electrolysis under laboratory conditions.

Silicon dioxide (silicon(IV) oxide)

The structure: The electronegativity of the elements increases across the period; silicon
and oxygen do not differ enough in electronegativity to form an ionic bond. There are
three different crystal forms of silicon dioxide; the most convenient structure to visualize
is similar to that of diamond. In silicon dioxide, oxygen atoms fill the empty spaces along
the silicon-silicon bond axes, as shown in a representative structure below:
This structure is repeated many times throughout the silicon dioxide substance.

Melting and boiling points: Silicon dioxide has a high melting point that varies
depending on the particular structure (the structure given is one of three possible
structures), but each is close to 1700°C. Very strong silicon-oxygen covalent bonds must
be broken throughout the structure before melting occurs. Silicon dioxide boils at 2230°C.
Because two types of bonding are considered, it makes little sense to compare these
values directly to those of the metallic oxides; suffice it to say that in both types of
structures, the melting and boiling points are very high.

Electrical conductivity: Silicon dioxide has no mobile electrons or ions, and hence does
not conduct electricity either as a solid or a liquid.

The molecular oxides

Phosphorus, sulfur and chlorine form molecular oxides. Some of these molecules are
fairly simple—others are polymeric. Here the simple structures are considered. Melting
and boiling points of these oxides are much lower than those of the metal oxides or silicon
dioxide. The intermolecular forces binding one molecule to its neighbors are van der
Waals dispersion forces or dipole-dipole interactions. The strength of these vary
depending on the size of the molecules. None of these oxides conduct electricity either
as solids or as liquids, because none of them contain ions or free electrons.

The phosphorus oxides

Phosphorus has two common oxides, phosphorus(III) oxide, P4O6, and phosphorus(V)
oxide, P4O10.

Phosphorus(III) oxide: Phosphorus(III) oxide is a white solid, melting at 24°C and boiling
at 173°C. To understand its structure, consider a tetrahedral P4 molecule:
The structure is expanded to display the bonds:

The phosphorus-phosphorus bonds are interrupted with oxygen atoms, in a bent shape
similar to water, as shown below:

Only 3 of the valence electrons of phosphorus (the 3 unpaired p electrons) are involved
in the phosphorus-oxygen bonds.

Phosphorus(V) oxide: Phosphorus(V) oxide is also a white solid, which sublimes at

300°C. In this case, the phosphorus uses all five of its outer electrons in the bonding.
Solid phosphorus(V) oxide exists in several different forms - some of them polymeric. We
are going to concentrate on a simple molecular form, and this is also present in the vapor.
This is most easily drawn starting from P4O6. The other four oxygens are attached to the
four phosphorus atoms via double bonds.
The sulfur oxides
Sulfur has two common oxides, sulfur dioxide (sulfur(IV) oxide), SO 2, and sulfur trioxide
(sulfur(VI) oxide), SO3.

Sulfur dioxide: Sulfur dioxide is a colorless gas at room temperature with an easily
recognized rotten-egg smell. It consists of simple SO2 molecules as shown:

The sulfur uses four of its six valence electrons to form the double bonds with oxygen,
leaving the other two as a lone pair on the sulfur. The bent shape of SO2 is due to this
lone pair.

Sulfur trioxide: Pure sulfur trioxide is a white solid with a low melting and boiling point.
It reacts very rapidly with water vapour in the air to form sulfuric acid. Under laboratory
conditions, it forms a white sludge which fumes dramatically in moist air (forming a fog of
sulfuric acid droplets). Gaseous sulfur trioxide consists of simple SO3 molecules in which
all six of the sulfur's outer electrons are involved in the bonding.

There are various forms of solid sulfur trioxide. The simplest one is a trimer, S3O9, in which
three SO3 molecules are joined in a ring.
There are also other polymeric forms in which the SO 3 molecules join together in long
chains. For example:

The tendency of sulfur trioxide to form polymers determines to its solid nature.

The chlorine oxides

Chlorine forms several oxides. Two are considered here: chlorine(I) oxide, Cl2O, and
chlorine(VII) oxide, Cl2O7.

Chlorine(I) oxide: Chlorine(I) oxide is a yellowish-red gas at room temperature. It

consists of simple, small molecules.

The physical properties of chlorine (I) oxide are consistent with those predicted for a
molecule of its size.

https://chem.libretexts.org/Textbook_Maps/Inorganic_Chemistry/Supplementa
l_Modules_(Inorganic_Chemistry)/Descriptive_Chemistry/Elements_Organize
d_by_Period/Period_3_Elements/Physical_Properties_of_Period_3_Oxides
3. （alt）Properties of Oxides.
The following Oxides will be analysed: Na2O, MgO, Al2O3, SiO2, P4O10, SO2 and
SO3.

The melting and boiling points of Na2O, MgO and Al2O3 are very high, since
they are all giant ionic structures meaning each metal cation and oxide anion
is held together by strong electrostatic forces of attraction due to opposite
charges (ionic bond). Therefore, large amounts of heat energy is required to
overcome these numerous ionic bonds in the structure and separate the ions
to form liquids and gases, hence the high boiling and melting points. The trend
in this subgroup is that the melting point increases from left to right as the
charge density of the ionic compounds increases (greater charge on the ions=
stronger electrostatic forces of attraction), meaning more energy is required to
overcome these stronger ionic bonds between the oppositely charged ions.
These compounds also only conduct electricity in a molten state (they are
insoluble in water), as this allows the ions to separate out and move freely,
and as a result they can carry electric current since they are both charged and
free to move particles.

SiO2 also has very high boiling and melting point, which is higher than that of
the giant ionic structures as it is a covalent macromolecule since the
electronegativity difference between Oxygen and Silicon is low enough to
allow covalent bonds to form instead of ionic ones. The reason for such a high
melting point (1700 degrees Celsius) is because the macromolecular structure
of Silicon Dioxide consists of Silicon and Oxygen atoms held together by a
large and numerous network of strong covalent bonds, and large amounts of
heat energy is required to overcome such a huge number of strong covalent
bonds to allow the constituent atoms to separate to out to form liquids and
gases. Silicon Dioxide does not conduct electricity in any state either, since
there are no mobile electrons or ions in the structure even in the liquid or gas
phase so electric current cannot be carried through the structure.

P4O10, SO2 and SO3 unlike the previous Period 3 Oxides are not giant
structures and are actually simple covalent molecules like their elemental
counterparts (P4 and S8). Consequently, they have a low boiling and melting
point, since the molecules are only held together by weak intermolecular
forces of attraction such as Dipole-Dipole attractions and Van der Waals
forces which require a smaller quantity of heat energy to overcome and
separate the molecules to form a liquid or gas due to their weakness. An
example of this is the melting point of P4O10 which sublimes at 360 degrees
Celsius, a much smaller value than the thousands of degrees required for
giant structures. These simple covalent molecules do not conduct electricity
either for much the same reason as Covalent Macromolecules, since they are
generally not electrically charged and they do not contain any mobile ions or
electrons which can carry electrical current. Sulphur Dioxide and Sulphur
Trioxide have much lower boiling points than Phosphorus(V) Oxide, since they
are much smaller molecules and therefore there a fewer electrons in the
molecule overall meaning the Van der Waals intermolecular forces are much
weaker so less energy is required to overcome them to form a liquid or gas.
Sulphur Trioxide is called the highest Oxide since the Sulphur atom has the
highest possible oxidation state that it can, which is +6 as all valence
electrons are involved in bonding in the atom.

https://progressivebiochemistry.wordpress.com/2015/07/25/trends-in-
chemical-properties-of-period-3-elements/

4. Acid-Base Behaviour of Oxides

There is a very clear trend in Period 3 from left to right, in terms of the acid-
base nature of the Period 3 Oxides since they are more basic from on the left,
amphoteric in the centre and then more acidic on the right. Amphoteric means
the compound essentially has the properties of acids and bases. Sodium
Oxide is strongly basic due to the presence of the O2- anion, which combines
with H+ ions to form water, which is a neutral molecule. It reacts with water to
form basic Sodium Hydroxide, and with Acids to from Sodium Salts and water.
Magnesium Oxide is also basic too but it is not as strong as Sodium Oxide,
since the Oxide anions are not as free and are more strongly bound to the
Mg2+ ions so they do not interact as much with Hydrogen ions and as a result
less neutralisation occurs. MgO reacts water to form practically insoluble
Magnesium Hydroxide, which is basic too.

MgO also follows the same trend as Na2O in terms of its reaction with acids to,
as it forms a Magnesium salt and water.

Aluminium(III) Oxide however is actually amphoteric, meaning is acts as both

an acid and a base which is in line with the overall period 3 trend from left to
right, which is that the oxides become less basic/more acidic across the
period. Al2O3 does not actually reacts with water, since the charge density in
the ionic lattice is too high and as a result the oppositely charged ions are too
strongly bound to each other electrostatically for a reaction. However, the
Al2O3 does react with acids in much the same way as Magnesium Oxide and
Sodium Oxide (neutralisation), which demonstrates the basic nature of the
amphoteric compound. However, Al2O3 also has acidic properties too, and
reacts with bases to form Aluminates, which is a negatively charged ion
containing an Aluminium atom bonded to Oxygen atoms. This can happen
because Aluminium can form covalent bonds as well as ionic ones due to its
relatively high electronegativity, however the reaction solution has to be hot,
and the base concentrated for the reaction to occur.
Silicon Dioxide is not basic at all however and is weakly acidic, since it is a
covalent structure and therefore there are no Oxide ions to give it basic
properties as electrons are shared between the atoms instead of transferred
or donated so ions do not form at all. Due to the strength of this
macromolecular structure it is very difficult to break bonds to allow a chemical
reaction to occur, so there is no reaction with water at all but there is a
reaction with a hot, concentrated solution of a base such as Sodium
Hydroxide to form Metal Silicates.

Phosphorus(III) Oxide and Phosphorus(V) Oxide also continue this general

trend across Period 3 as they both react with cold water to form acidic
solutions, which is consistent with the fact that as you go across period 3 the
oxides become more and more acidic in nature. P4O6 forms the weakly acidic
Phosphorous Acid when reacted with water.
Phosphorus(III) Oxide also can react directly with a base to form Phosphonate
salts and water, as is normal for an acidic compound.

Phosphorus(V) Oxide reacts much more violently with cold water to form
Phosphoric Acid which is also a weak acid, and can be reacted with a base in
a neutralisation reaction or alternatively the Oxide can be reacted with the
base directly to form the exact same product.

Sulphur Dioxide continues the overall trend in period 3 and too is an acidic
compound, as it dissolves in and reacts with water to form Sulphurous Acid
which is a weak acid, although much stronger than its Phosphorus
counterparts which further demonstrates acidity increasing as you go across
period 3. SO2 also reacts directly with bases in a neutralisation reaction.
Sulphur Trioxide, being the highest oxide for Sulphur reacts vigorously with
water to form Sulphuric Acid, which is a very strong acid indeed because it
can very readily release Hydrogen ions in solution to form HSO4–, which is
quite a weak acid since it is difficult to release the second Hydrogen ion from
the compound.

A general rule to be aware of here is that if there are more double Oxygen
atoms in an acidic molecule then it will be a stronger acid, since when H+ ions
dissociate from bonded Oxygen atoms in the molecule the atom gains a -1
negative charge. This negative charge is then delocalised over the resulting
molecular ion by interacting with the doubly bonded Oxygen atom(s) in the
same molecule, therefore the more double bonded Oxygen atoms there are,
the greater the delocalisation of negative charge in the molecule.
Consequently, if there is more delocalisation in the negatively charged
molecular ion, it is actually more stable and as a result Hydrogen ions are less
likely to recombine with the negative ion and so remain in solution, meaning in
general more Hydrogen ions will be present in the solution which lowers the
pH of the solution, thus making it more acidic, hence these acids are called
strong acids. An example of this is Sulphurous Acid which contains only one
double bonded Oxygen atom and therefore is a weaker acid, whilst Sulphuric
Acids contains two double bonded Oxygen atoms and thus is a stronger acid
as the negative SO42- ion is much more stable due to charge delocalisation.
The highest oxide of Chlorine, Cl2O7 reacts with water to give a very strong
acid called Chloric(VII) Acid, which contains 3 double bonded Oxygen atoms
for one acidic Hydrogen-Oxygen bond. Therefore, when the Hydrogen ion is
lost the negative charge of the ion is delocalised greatly to produce a very
stable anion, which is not at all likely to recombine with a Hydrogen ion and
thus there is a proportionally high concentration of them in solution, making it
a strong acid.

This is also consistent with the acid-base trend across period 3, Period 3
oxides are getting steadily more acidic from the amphoteric Aluminium(III)
Oxide to the strongly acidic Chlorine(VII) Oxide.

Chlorine(I) Oxide is not the highest oxide, and therefore it is a far weaker acid
since it lacks double bonded Oxygen atoms in the anion. It reacts with water
to form Chloric(I) Acid.

https://progressivebiochemistry.wordpress.com/2015/07/25/trends-in-
chemical-properties-of-period-3-elements/

https://www.chemguide.co.uk/inorganic/period3/oxidesh2o.html

5. The structure and physical properties of the elements (see also section
5.1)
  The trend is metal lattice ==> giant covalent structure ==> small
covalent molecules
 Sodium Na, magnesium Mg and aluminium Al are silvery solids, with a
metal lattice structure, high boiling points and are good conductors of
heat/electricity due to the delocalised free electrons moving between the
immobile metal ions.
o The melting/boiling points increase from Na ==> Mg ==> Al due
to 1 ==> 2 ==> 3 potential number of delocalised electrons that
may contribute to bonding.
 Si has a non-metallic giant covalent structure based on a tetrahedral
arrangement of S-Si bonds and is a poor conductor of heat/electricity.
o The strong 3D bonding gives silicon a high melting/boiling point
and great hardness.
 Phosphorus P4, sulfur S8 and chlorine Cl2 are simple-small covalent
molecules and Argon Ar consists of single atoms. The molecules are
only held together by the weakest of the intermolecular forces, namely
the instantaneous dipole - induced dipole forces, and consequently
have very low melting/boiling points.
o From left to right the elements become less metallic and
more non-metallic.

http://www.docbrown.info/page07/ASA2ptable5b.htm