Lithium Reacts with Water

This is part of a demonstration series I preform where we compare the reactivities of some alkaline earth and alkali metals to one another by reacting each with water.

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[40lax4life]

we did this experiment in my biochem class today and everyone in the room started coughing because we didnt put them in the gas hood early enough......is this bad to breath in?

[mrericsully]

@40lax4life Anytime you breathe in something that is not air or O2 it is a problem because we are depriving our bodies of what they need, but some gases are dangerous. I've never had problems breathing small amounts of H2 gas[which is what this reaction releases], but many of my students have complained and coughed during labs that release hydrogen gas when I fail to turn on the room vent. With small pieces of alkali metals though it should be safe.

[mrericsully]

@40lax4life Did you do this individually or did your teacher use a large amount?

[Rejected97]

is this hot water or cold?

[mrericsully]

@Rejected97 Room temperature (about 21 C/70 F). the reaction would be a little more vigorous if the water was warmer, but since this is a series on comparing the reactivities of alkali metals and it is difficult for me with this setup to use warmer water and maintain a consistent temperature, not to mention that sodium and potassium would probably get too violent for these conditions.

[brandeezy108]

lithium hydromonoxide?

[mrericsully]

@brandeezy108 Close, but the hydro[gen]monoxide you describe is better known as the polyatomic ion: hydroxide (OH-).

[40lax4life]

@mrericsully yeah everyone coughed but it only bothered us for about 5 minutes or so. thanks anyway and great video!

[brandeezy108]

@mrericsully it was a shot in the dark, lol.

[billdsafdsad]

@mrericsully ok thanks for the info :D