8 Eb-1

Oxidation

Name Class Date

1 Hydrogen and oxygen react to form water.

a Colour the oxygen atoms in red. Colour the hydrogen atoms in grey.

a How many hydrogen atoms are there in all the reactants?

b How many hydrogen atoms are there in all the products?

c How many oxygen atoms are there in all the reactants?

d How many oxygen atoms are there in all the products?

e If the masses of oxygen and hydrogen were measured before the reaction, and the mass
of water formed was measured after the reaction, what would we see?
Tick () the correct box.

 total mass of hydrogen and oxygen greater than mass of water

 total mass of hydrogen and oxygen same as mass of water

 total mass of hydrogen and oxygen less than mass of water

2 When a metal reacts with oxygen, the metal oxide is formed. Write down the products of these
reactions.

a magnesium + oxygen 

b copper + oxygen 

c What is the name of this kind of reaction?

3 Sometimes it seems as if mass has been gained in a reaction.

The zinc has combined with oxygen to form zinc oxide.

Where did the oxygen come from?

I can…
● state what happens to mass in an oxidation reaction
● describe oxidation reactions of metals.

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 8 Eb-2
Changing mass

Your teacher may watch to see if you can:

● follow instructions carefully
● work safely.

Aim
To measure the change in mass when magnesium is burnt in air.

Introduction
When magnesium burns in air, it reacts with oxygen to form magnesium oxide.

Method
Apparatus Eye protection should be worn. Use
● magnesium ribbon ● tongs tongs to handle apparatus, as it will
take time to cool down after heating.
● pipe clay triangle ● crucible with lid Do not look directly at burning
● Bunsen burner ● tripod magnesium.
● access to balance ● emery paper
● heat-resistant mat

A If the magnesium looks dull or black, rub it with emery paper until it is shiny.
B Measure the mass of the crucible and lid to two decimal places. Record the mass in the table
on the next page.
C Twist the magnesium ribbon into a loose coil and place it in the crucible. Measure the mass
of the crucible, lid and magnesium accurately. Record the mass.
D Set up the apparatus as shown in the diagram. Make sure that the crucible is held securely
and that the lid is fully on.
E Light the Bunsen burner and, using a roaring flame, heat the crucible.
F Once the magnesium starts to burn, use the tongs to slightly lift the lid to let in air. Don’t allow
the flame from the magnesium to escape, as this may allow some magnesium oxide to
escape.
G Keep heating and lifting the lid until there is no further reaction. Use the tongs to remove the
crucible lid and place it on the heat-resistant mat. Continue heating for another two minutes.
H Turn the Bunsen burner off and allow everything to cool.
I Measure the mass of the crucible, lid and product.

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 8 Eb-2
Changing mass

Name Class Date

Results table
1 Complete this table of results.

Mass (g)

mass 1 crucible + lid

mass 2 magnesium + crucible + lid

mass 3 product + crucible + lid

Considering your results/Conclusions

2 Calculate the mass of magnesium by subtracting mass 1 from mass 2.

mass of magnesium = – = g

3 Calculate the mass of magnesium oxide by subtracting mass 1 from mass 3.

mass of magnesium oxide = – = g

4 Describe the difference in mass between the magnesium and the magnesium oxide.

5 Explain the difference in mass between the magnesium and the magnesium oxide.

6 Calculate the mass of oxygen that reacted with the magnesium. Show your working in the
space below.

7 Describe how the experiment could be improved to get more accurate results. Explain your
answer.

I can…
● state what happens to mass in a chemical reaction
● explain the change in mass seen in reactions.

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 8 Eb-3
Phlogiston

In 1703, George Stahl, a German scientist, published his theory of phlogiston. This theory was
used for nearly a century to explain what happened in combustion reactions. The careful
experiments of Antoine Lavoisier and Joseph Priestley in the 1770s showed that combustion was a
reaction with oxygen. Today, we describe any reaction in which a substance combines with oxygen
as ‘oxidation’. Combustion is a type of oxidation in which a lot of energy is transferred that we can
see and feel.
Cut out the cards below and divide them into two groups; those that are about the phlogiston
theory and those that are about our modern theory of oxidation.
Then use the information to help you answer these questions.

1 Stahl developed his theory by observing the burning of wood.

a Write a word equation for the combustion of wood to form ash using the phlogiston theory.
b Write a word equation for the combustion of wood to form ash using the oxygen theory.
c The wood ash that is left after the combustion of wood has a smaller mass than the wood
that was burnt. Compare how the two theories would explain this change in mass.

2 Metals also change when they are heated strongly in air.

a Write a word equation for this reaction using the phlogiston theory.
b Write a word equation for this reaction using the oxidation theory.
c When a metal is heated strongly in air, the substance formed has a greater mass than the
metal that was used. Compare how the two theories would explain this change in mass and
describe one piece of evidence that shows us that the oxidation theory is correct.

I can…
● contrast the theories of oxygen and phlogiston in combustion
● evaluate the evidence used to displace the phlogiston theory of combustion.

Anything that burns contains During combustion, the The gain in mass of a metal
phlogiston. substance reacts with oxygen. when it is heated in air is the
mass of the oxygen it reacts
with.
The oxygen in a combustion Combustion releases the Metals heated strongly in air
reaction comes from the air or phlogiston into the air leaving also release phlogiston,
another substance (an a solid calx. leaving the metal calx.
oxidising agent).
The more phlogiston a Air is needed for combustion
substance contains, the more because it absorbs the
completely it burns. phlogiston – it becomes
phlogisticated air.

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 8 Eb-4
Metal reactions

Name Class Date

1 The diagram shows magnesium ribbon that has been heated strongly in air. What evidence in
this diagram shows that a reaction is happening? Tick () the correct box.

 The magnesium is changing colour.

 The very bright flame shows that energy is released.
 The magnesium gets hotter.
2 What kind of reaction is shown happening in the diagram? Circle the correct answer.

neutralisation oxidation revision

3 Which gas in air does the magnesium react with? Tick () one box.

 carbon dioxide
 nitrogen
 oxygen
4 Write a word equation to model what happens in the reaction shown above.

+ 

5 When copper metal reacts with oxygen, copper oxide is formed. Write a word equation for this
reaction.

6 If the mass of copper and the mass of oxygen were measured before the reaction, what would
be the mass of copper oxide formed? Tick () one box.

 The same as the mass of copper added to the mass of oxygen.

 More than the mass of copper added to the mass of oxygen.
 Less than the mass of copper added to the mass of oxygen.

I can…
● describe oxidation reactions of metals
● state what happens to mass in a chemical reaction.

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 8 Eb-5
Mass in reactions

1 A magnesium flare is a bright light produced when magnesium metal burns in air. It has several
military uses. Magnesium flares may be dropped at night to illuminate a landing area for
paratroopers. They may also be launched from planes or helicopters as decoys, to attract
heat-seeking missiles that usually target hot engines.

a Which gas in air does the magnesium in the flare react with?
b What kind of reaction is happening when magnesium reacts with this gas?
c What is the evidence that the magnesium is reacting? Explain your answer.
d Write word equations for the reaction of each of these metals with the gas.
magnesium
lead
potassium
2 When zinc powder is heated strongly in air a white ash is formed.
a What is the white ash?
b How does the mass of the ash compare with the mass of the zinc powder before the
reaction?
c Explain your answer to part b.
3 The table shows the mass of a spirit burner
and the hydrocarbon fuel it contains during a
20-minute period after the burner was lit.

Time (min) 0 5 10 15 20

Mass of burner 182.3 181.8 181.2 180.7 180.2

+ fuel

a Describe what the results show.

b Explain why the results show this pattern.

I can…
● identify the changes that occur when metals are heated strongly
● explain changes in mass seen in oxidation reactions.

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 8 Eb-6
Formula equations

The word equation for the reaction of carbon with oxygen is:
carbon + oxygen  carbon dioxide
We can also write this equation using the chemical formula for each substance:
C + O2  CO2
Carbon dioxide exists as molecules and its formula shows the number of the different atoms in the
molecule. If there is no little number after a symbol, there is only one atom. Otherwise the little
number tells you how many atoms of that type are in the molecule. Oxygen is an element but
exists as ‘diatomic’ molecules – two atoms of the same kind joined together. Carbon does not exist
as molecules but as a huge structure of billions of carbon atoms joined together. We have no idea
how many so we just write the symbol for the element.
1 How many carbon atoms and how many oxygen atoms are there in one molecule of carbon
dioxide?
2 Look at the chemical equation above. Count the number of carbon atoms and oxygen atoms in
the products and in the reactants.
a What do you find?
b How does this explain the law of conservation of mass in reactions?
Hydrogen usually reacts with oxygen to produce water, but in special conditions it can form
another molecule called hydrogen peroxide. The formula for hydrogen peroxide is H2O2.
3 Write a word equation and then a symbol equation to model the formation of hydrogen peroxide
from hydrogen gas and oxygen gas. (Hint: hydrogen gas is a diatomic molecule.)
Check your formula equation by counting the number of atoms on each side.
The formula for a substance never changes. Oxygen gas is always O2, hydrogen peroxide is
always H2O2, and magnesium oxide is always MgO. However, writing the symbol equation for the
formation of magnesium oxide isn’t as straightforward as for carbon dioxide and hydrogen
peroxide.
If we start with the standard formula for each substance we get:
Mg + O2  MgO
Counting the number of atoms on each side, there is one magnesium atom on each side, which is
what we would expect. But there are two atoms of oxygen on the left side and only one on the
right, which isn’t correct. We could write Mg + O  MgO, but this is wrong because oxygen is a
diatomic molecule.
We need another way to ‘balance’ the atoms on each side. We do this by multiplying the quantities
by the smallest number needed to make the atoms balance. We need two oxygen atoms on the
right as well as the left side of the equation, so multiply the magnesium oxide formula by 2:
Mg + O2  2MgO
The problem now is that we have two magnesium atoms on the right but only one on the left, so
we multiply the magnesium on the left by 2. The simplest answer to this is:
2Mg + O2  2MgO
Now the number of atoms on each side of the equation is the same – and the equation is
balanced.
4 Try writing balanced symbol equations for the following reactions.
a Sulfur reacts with oxygen to produce sulfur dioxide.
b Zinc reacts with oxygen to produce zinc oxide (ZnO).
c Hydrogen gas reacts with oxygen gas to form water.

I can…
● write simple balanced symbol equations.

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 8 Eb-7
Ideas old and new

Scientists used the phlogiston theory to explain some of their observations. Now that we no longer
believe that phlogiston exists we must be able to explain the observations in a different way.

1 Explain each idea in the boxes in modern terms. If you can, give the modern names for the
substances mentioned. Try to write word equations to help your explanations. The first one has
been done for you. (Hint: a ‘calx’ is usually an oxide. Some oxides decompose when you heat
them.)

2 Write a symbol equation for the reaction in box 1.

3 Use the information in the boxes to evaluate the phlogiston theory. Identify its good points
(where it can explain the observation) and its weak points.

4 Write a sentence to explain why scientists no longer believe the theory.

I can…
● explain and compare the oxygen and phlogiston theories for combustion and oxidation.

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