Question

If a reaction occurs when a piece of metal is placed in a solution, what can you conclude about the solution?

Answer 1

Hello!

If a reaction occurs when a piece of metal is placed in a solution, you can conclude that the solution is probably acidic because bases rarely react with metals.

Strong Acids, like HCl, react with metals to produce salts and release gaseous hydrogen (H₂) which is evidenced by the generation of bubbles in the solution. The general chemical equation for this kind of reactions for a metal M and an acid HA is:

2M(s) + 2HA(aq) → 2MA(aq) + H₂(g)

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