Why is the amount of gas collected in one of the test tubes in Activity 1.7 double of the amount collected in the other? Name this gas.
the amount of hydrogen gas collected in one test tube is double the amount of oxygen gas collected in the other because water (H₂O) contains two hydrogen atoms for every one oxygen atom. Therefore, during electrolysis, hydrogen is produced in a 2:1 ratio by volume compared to oxygen.
Elaboration:
When electricity is passed through water (H₂O), it decomposes into its constituent elements: hydrogen and oxygen. The chemical equation for this process is:
2H₂O → 2H₂ + O₂
This equation shows that for every two molecules of water that decompose, two molecules of hydrogen gas (2H₂) and one molecule of oxygen gas (O₂) are produced. This explains why the volume of hydrogen gas collected in one of the test tubes is double the volume of oxygen gas collected in the other.