Experiments With Calcium Chloride
Calcium chloride is a common and mostly safe salt that is used in a wide variety of ways. The compound is used to deice roads, to help set concrete, to process foods and to manufacture paper. You can use calcium chloride to experiment with the physical and chemical processes of this compound.
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Identification
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The chemical formula for calcium chloride is CaCl2. This is an ionic compound made up of a positively-charged calcium ion (Ca) and two negatively-charged chlorine ions (Cl). Calcium chloride is a solid at room temperature and is composed of grayish white granules. The compound dissolves easily in water and has a pH of 8 or 9, making it slightly basic.
Reactions
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Calcium chloride reacts with other chemicals when mixed. A simple test of this can be done if you mix calcium chloride with baking soda (sodium bicarbonate). Mix the two substances in a sealed plastic bag to see the reaction. If you add a pH indicator to the mixture, you might be able to watch a neutralization reaction.
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Features
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Calcium chloride is a desiccant, which means that it absorbs water into its own crystals. Test this feature by adding a small amount of water to a measured amount of calcium chloride. Add the water drop by drop, keeping track of the number of drops. Eventually, the calcium chloride will dissolve when the amount of water is too great to be absorbed.
Benefits
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A major benefit of calcium chloride is its ability to melt ice. Calcium chloride lowers the melting point of the ice without causing significant amounts of corrosion. You can test this by mixing calcium chloride to ice. Put several pieces of ice into two bowls. Add some calcium chloride to one bowl. Check the two bowls over time to see how much ice remains in each.
Warnings
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While calcium chloride is mostly safe, you should take some precautions when experimenting with this, or any, substance. Wear goggles or safety glasses when mixing the chemicals, as calcium chloride can irritate your eyes. Do not mix calcium chloride with unknown chemicals. Calcium chloride can react with some chemicals to produce dangerous results, like highly-acidic hydrogen chloride (HCl) when mixed with sulfuric or phosphoric acid.
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