Monday, February 17, 2003 / the voice of the school

Science <7>
> A class with Mort and Phil
Is sulfuric acid!
Now triumph in the film, but has long since been made a dent on this page by bul
lets scientific content which is reproduced today. Ladies and gentlemen, I give
you: Mort and Phil (this time with sulfuric acid as a guest star) with the permi
ssion of his genius creator Francisco Ibáñez.
> MarÍa Ares / Miguel Barral
> FEATURES
> EXPERIMENT
> A TIP
A yellowish, viscous liquid
For the record, not that Mort and Phil does not know more about the sulfuric aci
d is that to tell it all would have to dedicate a complete adventure. "The sulfu
ric acid is a clear, yellowish liquid to very dense and sticky. "Attention, my y
oung apprentice: sulfuric acid has a strong affinity for water that is mixed in
all proportions in a highly exothermic reaction which may even cause the project
ion of drops of acid. Therefore, when diluted acid should be added to the water
and never in reverse, slowly and with stirring. "85% of the sulfur that is obtai
ned is used in the manufacture of sulfuric acid, the most important product of t
he chemical industry to the extent that the production level of a country is ind
icative of its industrial development. It is used in the production of mineral f
ertilizers, explosives, artificial silk, dyes, batteries in cars ... "Despite th
at Mortadelo you smell bad, the reality is that sulfuric acid is one of the sulf
ur compounds that ' Better smell. Nothing to do with the smelly sulfur (a mixtur
e of sulfur and hydrogen), to which we as unforgettable smells like rotten eggs
and stink bombs. - Do not panic!: It is true that sulfuric acid is very corrosiv
e, but which is used in laboratories is diluted. So because you drop a couple dr
ops on top, you will not lose the hand. Wash it with water and matter resolved.
How acid rain is formed
Sulfuric acid is one of the main causes of acid rain. Each time you burn oil, it
s derivatives or carbon, sulfur containing SO2 becomes passing into the atmosphe
re, where it is oxidized to give SO3 which reacts with air to form sulfuric acid
that falls as rain ... acid. We will start with an experiment. (Since today is
the protagonist of sulfuric acid, the experiment that we propose you can not do
at home.'ll Have to count on the complicity of your teacher.): In a gas hood is
placed on a stove and it a beaker with about 75 mL of distilled water to which y
ou measure the pH. It is also filled with distilled water and two halves Petri d
ishes, add a few drops of an indicator to each of the first-bromothymol blue and
methyl orange-second and once lists are placed next to the stove. When the wate
r begins to boil, place a porcelain sulfur inside the oven, and cover all the ma
terial with a bowl (or a similar glass container) reversed. Immediately, cover t
he top of the bowl with aluminum foil and ice on it, to condense the steam. Sulf
ur begin to react with oxygen to produce SO2, which is combined with steam and w
ater to give H2SO4, to condense on the roof of the tank begins to leak, that is,
to rain. That is our acid rain. At that time the stove is turned off, expect a
couple of minutes to remove the foil and the ice and carefully lifted the bowl,
being careful not to breathe the fumes, and leaving circular air for another cou
ple of minutes before observing what happened to the color of the plates. If eve
rything went as it should, the Petri dish with bromothymol blue will look yellow
 now, while the one with the methyl orange changed to a red-cinnamon. The pH cha
nge is made to a value of 6 in the first case and 3.1 in the second. Until that
point comes the acidity of acid rain.
Magic or Chemistry?
Carefully check a stream of sulfuric acid on a beaker with a little sugar and ..
. ta chan! Everything has an explanation: sulfuric acid has a dehydrating action
so intense (hence its wide use as a drying agent) who is not content to draw th
e water molecules of different substances but in contact with organic compounds,
consisting mainly of carbon , oxygen and hydrogen (eg sugar) is able to extract
oxygen and hydrogen to form water and charred.
> ACTIVITIES
A very rewarding activity: going to the movies to see "Big Adventures of Mort an
d Phil" and enjoyed laughing, to take note of the scientific strengths appear in
the film. Then class discussion Are are right or barbaric?