Sulphur powder is heated on a spatula. A piece of both, moist blue and...
Sulphur upon heating in a spatula in presence of air forms,
SO
2 being an acidic oxide when comes in contact with moist Blue litmus paper, turns the litmus paper red, due to the formation of sulphurous acid.
Sulphur powder is heated on a spatula. A piece of both, moist blue and...
Explanation:
When sulphur powder is heated on a spatula, it undergoes a chemical reaction and produces a gas. This gas is sulphur dioxide (SO2).
Action of the gas on moist litmus papers:
When the gas evolved during the heating of sulphur powder is brought near a moist blue litmus paper, it turns the blue litmus paper red. This indicates that the gas is acidic in nature.
When the gas evolved during the heating of sulphur powder is brought near a moist red litmus paper, there is no change in color. This indicates that the gas does not have any effect on the red litmus paper.
Explanation of the action:
- Blue litmus paper:
When the blue litmus paper comes in contact with an acidic substance, it turns red. This is because blue litmus paper is sensitive to acidity and undergoes a color change in the presence of an acidic substance.
In this case, the gas evolved during the heating of sulphur powder is sulphur dioxide (SO2), which is an acidic gas. When it comes in contact with the moist blue litmus paper, it reacts with the water on the paper and forms sulphurous acid (H2SO3). This change in pH turns the blue litmus paper red.
- Red litmus paper:
Red litmus paper is used to test for alkalinity. It undergoes a color change when it comes in contact with a basic substance. However, it does not undergo any change when it comes in contact with an acidic substance. In this case, the gas evolved during the heating of sulphur powder is acidic (sulphur dioxide), and hence, it does not react with the red litmus paper. Therefore, there is no change in the color of the red litmus paper.
Conclusion:
Based on the above observations, it can be concluded that when the gas evolved during the heating of sulphur powder is brought near a moist blue litmus paper, it turns the blue litmus paper red. However, there is no change in the color of the red litmus paper. Therefore, the correct answer is option 'B' - Blue litmus paper becomes red.
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