Nigel Baldwin | Three pieces of sodium metal reacting with water in a beaker 4 MVI 1325 @nigelbaldwin3184 | Uploaded March 2018 | Updated October 2024, 11 hours ago.
High School Chemistry

The reaction of sodium metal with water.

In this experiment three pieces of sodium metal, each approx. 0.5cm diameter, were dropped into a beaker of water.

The sodium did not ignite or catch fire on this occasion.

Observations:
1 The sodium floats, sodium is less dense than water
2 Sodium reacts very quickly; a hissing sound is heard due to gas being produced and the sodium moves rapidly across the surface of the water
3 The sodium melts into a ball because the reaction is exothermic and generates enough heat to melt the metal, melting point of sodium metal approx. 98 C

sodium + water = sodium hydroxide + hydrogen

In this case, Universal Indicator was not added to the water, which is usually done to show the production of the alkali sodium hydroxide.