Question

Miles mixed two unlabeled solutions together. This caused a bad reaction, and a noxious gas was emitted. Which describes what Miles should do?
A. He should use a fire blanket to cover his solutions.
B. He should report the accident and leave the area.
C. He should neutralize the reaction by adding water.
D. He should pour the solution down the sink to stop the gas.

Answer 1

Answer:

B. He should report the accident and leave the area.

Explanation:

Noxious gases are harmful and might cause hallucination or even death. Examples of such gases carbon monoxide (CO) and Ammonia gas (NH3).  

Let's look at all the options

1. All the solutions except for B is increasing his time of contact with the gas.  This will increase his exposure and might cause death.
2. The fire blanked in option A is used to cover the fire and NOT the gas. It’s simply not made for it. Also, the blanket material might react with the gas to create additional fumes.  
3. He should not neutralize it with water as the solution might contain a group 1 metal e.g. Na (sodium). In that case the container will explode and hydrogen gas will release.
4. Pouring the solution down the sink won’t stop the gas as the reaction has occurred already. It will only make the situation worse as after pouring the mixture, the gas will get more space to spread across the room.  

Therefore,  He should report the accident and leave the area.