Reactions of Compounds Worksheet

Listed below are four reactions that involve compounds.

Reaction One:

Shown here is a test tube containing copper sulfate solution. Most compounds that contain copper are blue in colour.

Test tube of copper sulfate solution

When colourless ammonium hydroxide solution is added to the blue copper sulfate, a darker blue solid forms and sinks to the bottom (known as a precipitate) and a pale solution remains above it.

Reaction Two:

Calcium carbonate - better known as chalk - reacts with hydrochloric acid (which has a very low pH) to produce the salt calcium chloride along with water and carbon dioxide gas.

Reaction Three:

Lead iodide is bright yellow in colour and can be used in yellow paints (sometimes used to paint cars). It can be produced by a precipitation reaction between potassium iodide and lead nitrate.

Yellow car

Reaction Four:

Magnesium metal is a reactive metal. It can react with acids or other compounds which contain metals, such as zinc nitrate. When they react, the compound magnesium nitrate is formed along with zinc metal.

These descriptions of reactions can seem complicated; to simplify them, scientists use chemical equations. Shown below are the chemical equations for each of the reactions described above.

Read the descriptions carefully and compare them to the equations shown below. Practise this a few times before you move onto the questions.

Reaction One:

ammonium hydroxide + copper sulfate → copper hydroxide + ammonium sulfate

Reaction Two:

calcium carbonate + hydrochloric acid → calcium chloride + carbon dioxide + water

Reaction Three:

potassium iodide + lead nitrate → lead iodide + potassium nitrate

Reaction Four:

magnesium + zinc nitrate → zinc + magnesium nitrate.

Which of the following compounds are made of only two elements combined?

hydrogen oxide

carbon dioxide

sodium hydroxide

calcium chloride

potassium sulfate

What is calcium carbonate more commonly known as? Select the correct option from the list below.

chalk

salt

sugar

A student finds a test tube that contains a blue solution. Which of the following metals is most likely to be responsible for the blue colour?

potassium

copper

sodium

Read this description of a reaction carefully and use the information provided to list the reactants and products of the reaction:

The salt sodium chloride can be produced by reacting sodium hydroxide with hydrochloric acid. This reaction also produces water and can be classed as a neutralisation reaction.

Column A	Column B
sodium chloride	reactant
hydrochloric acid	reactant
sodium hydroxide	product
water	product

Methane is a commonly used fuel in the home. It releases heat energy when it reacts with oxygen in a combustion reaction. This reaction produces the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide along with water.

Using the table below, fill in the missing parts of the equation:

methane + A → B + water

(Please give your answer without capital letters)

Column A	Column B
sodium chloride	reactant
hydrochloric acid	reactant
sodium hydroxide	product
water	product

Magnesium metal reacts strongly with acids such as nitric acid. This reaction is highly exothermic, releasing lots of heat and hydrogen gas. When the reaction is complete the salt magnesium nitrate is produced.

Using the table below, fill in the missing parts of the equation:

nitric acid + A → magnesium nitrate + B

(Please give your answer without capitals)

	A	B
Missing Words

Silver can be produced by reacting silver nitrate with zinc metal.

Using the table below, fill in the missing parts of the equation:

Silver nitrate + A → B + silver

(Give your answer without capital letters)

	A	B
Missing Words

ANSWERS

Question 1

Which of the following are compounds?

CORRECT ANSWER

acid
chalk
salt

EDDIE SAYS

Compounds are not listed in the Periodic Table, it only lists elements. Sodium and oxygen are both elements as they are listed in the Periodic Table.

ANSWERS

Question 2

Which of the following compounds are made of only two elements combined?

CORRECT ANSWER

hydrogen oxide
carbon dioxide
calcium chloride

EDDIE SAYS

Potassium sulfate (KSO₄) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) both contain three elements. If a compound name ends in -ate, then that compound also contains oxygen.

ANSWERS

Question 3

What is calcium carbonate more commonly known as? Select the correct option from the list below.

CORRECT ANSWER

chalk

EDDIE SAYS

Calcium carbonate is known as chalk. The chemical name of salt is sodium chloride and sugar can be classed as a carbohydrate.

ANSWERS

Question 4

A student finds a test tube that contains a blue solution. Which of the following metals is most likely to be responsible for the blue colour?

CORRECT ANSWER

copper

EDDIE SAYS

Solutions that contain the metal copper are usually blue in colour.

ANSWERS

Question 5

Read this description of a reaction carefully and use the information provided to list the reactants and products of the reaction:

The salt sodium chloride can be produced by reacting sodium hydroxide with hydrochloric acid. This reaction also produces water and can be classed as a neutralisation reaction.

CORRECT ANSWER

Column A	Column B
sodium chloride	product
hydrochloric acid	reactant
sodium hydroxide	reactant
water	product

EDDIE SAYS

Descriptions of reactions can be complicated and they must be read carefully to create the correct equation. So we have sodium hydroxide reacting with hydrochloric acid. Those are the reactants. Then, formed in the reaction, are two products: sodium chloride and water. That's a typical neutralisation reaction: Acid + Base → Salt + Water

ANSWERS

Question 6

Methane is a commonly used fuel in the home. It releases heat energy when it reacts with oxygen in a combustion reaction. This reaction produces the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide along with water.

Using the table below, fill in the missing parts of the equation:

methane + A → B + water

(Please give your answer without capital letters)

CORRECT ANSWER

EDDIE SAYS

All combustion reactions involve elements or compounds reacting with oxygen from the air to release heat energy.

ANSWERS

Question 7

Magnesium metal reacts strongly with acids such as nitric acid. This reaction is highly exothermic, releasing lots of heat and hydrogen gas. When the reaction is complete the salt magnesium nitrate is produced.

Using the table below, fill in the missing parts of the equation:

nitric acid + A → magnesium nitrate + B

(Please give your answer without capitals)

CORRECT ANSWER

	A	B
Missing Words

EDDIE SAYS

Reactive metals such as magnesium react with acids to produce salts and the very explosive hydrogen gas. Again, they follow a typical pattern: Acid + Metal → Salt + Hydrogen

ANSWERS

Question 8

Silver can be produced by reacting silver nitrate with zinc metal.

Using the table below, fill in the missing parts of the equation:

Silver nitrate + A → B + silver

(Give your answer without capital letters)

CORRECT ANSWER

	A	B
Missing Words

EDDIE SAYS

This one was more difficult because only three of the chemicals involved are mentioned in the text. Elements or compounds cannot disappear and all elements contained within the compounds at the start of a reaction must also be contained within the compounds at the end of a reaction. The final equation should look like this: Silver Nitrate + Zinc → Zinc Nitrate + Silver Can you see where all the atoms are going?