98. Tests.
Experiment 59.—(1) Generate a little of the gas in a t.t., and note the odor. (2) Test the gas with wet red litmus paper. (3) Put a little HCl into an e.d., and pass over it the fumes of NH3 from a d.t. Note the result, and write the equation. (4) Fill a small t.t. with the gas by upward displacement; then, while still inverted, put the mouth of the t.t. into water. Explain the rise of the water. (5) How might NH4Cl be obtained from the NH4OH in the Woulff bottles? (6) Test the liquid in each bottle with red litmus paper. (7) Add some from the first bottle to 5 or 10 cc. of a solution of FeSO4 or FeCl2, and look for a ppt. State the reaction.
99. Formation.—Ammonia, hartshorn, exists in animal and vegetable compounds, in salts, and, in small quantities, in the atmosphere. Rain washes it from the atmosphere into the soil; plants take it from the soil; animals extract it from plants. Coal, bones, horns, etc., are the chief sources of it, and from them it is obtained by distillation. It results also from decomposing animal matter. NH3 can be produced by the direct union of N and H, only by an electric discharge or by ozone. It may be collected over Hg like other gases that are very soluble in water.
100. Uses. —Ammonium hydrate, NH4OH, and ammonia, NH3, are used in chemical operations, in making artificial ice, and to some extent in medicine; from them also may be obtained ammonium salts. State what you would put with NH4OH to obtain (NH4)2SO4. To obtain NH4NO3. The use of NH4OH in the laboratory may be illustrated by the following experiment:—
Experiment 60.—Into a t.t. put 10 cc. of a solution of ferrous sulphate, FeSO4. Into another put 10 cc. of sodium sulphate solution, Na2SO4. Add a little NH4OH to each. Notice a ppt. in the one case but none in the other. If solutions of these two compounds were mixed, the metals Fe and Na could be separated by the addition of NH4OH, similar to the separation of Ag and Cu by HCl. Try the experiment.
CHAPTER XXI.
SODIUM HYDRATE.
101. Preparation.
Experiment 61.—Dissolve 3 g. sodium carbonate, Na2CO3, in 10 or 15 cc. H2O in an e.d., and bring it to the boiling-point. Then add to this a mixture of 1 or 2 g. calcium hydrate, Ca(OH)2, in 5 or 10cc. H2O. It will not dissolve. Boil the whole for five minutes. Then pour off the liquid which holds NaOH in solution. Evaporate if desired. This is the usual mode of preparing NaOH.
The reaction is Na2CO3 + Ca(OH)2 = 2NaOH + CaCO3. The residue is Ca(OH)2 and CaCO3; the solution contains NaOH, which can be solidified by evaporating the water. Sodium hydrate is an ingredient in the manufacture of hard soap, and for this use thousands of tons are made annually, mostly in Europe. It is an important laboratory reagent, its use being similar to that of ammonium hydrate. Exposed to the air, it takes up water and CO2, forming a mixture of NaOH and Na2CO3. It is one of the strongest alkalies, and corrodes the skin.