I am embarrassed to ask this on such technical site, but I decided safety first! I know that Calcium is reactive with acids and water but would it be safe to mix a small amount of calcium and acetic acid in a science classroom without a hood?
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3$\begingroup$ Hello and Welcome to Chem SE. Don't be embarrassed to ask questions. It is a genuine question about safety of chemicals and performing experiments in front of class. $\endgroup$Nilay Ghosh– Nilay Ghosh2025-11-21 03:28:37 +00:00Commented yesterday
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$\begingroup$ I'd use magnesium or zinc. $\endgroup$Oscar Lanzi– Oscar Lanzi2025-11-21 10:35:08 +00:00Commented 21 hours ago
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$\begingroup$ I like this demo with indicators: edu.rsc.org/exhibition-chemistry/…. Depending on your desired learning outcomes, it might be on or off topic. Maybe add some context to your question by editing it. $\endgroup$Karsten– Karsten ♦2025-11-21 17:46:06 +00:00Commented 14 hours ago
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1$\begingroup$ I would not use acetic acid outside a hood, is is dangerous and pungent. Unless you are using a dilute solution (like distilled vinegar). But then you are mostly showing the reaction of water, not acetic acid which somewhat ruins the purpose. $\endgroup$matt_black– matt_black2025-11-21 19:04:14 +00:00Commented 13 hours ago
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2 Answers
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The reaction will proceed to form calcium acetate in a typical acid-metal reaction. Here hydrogen will be the other product which will be released causing effervescence. Mixing small amounts won't cause a problem, but you should be worried about handling acetic acid, which tends to be corrosive. If the end result is to show effervescence and end product to be calcium acetate, then better use homemade stuff rather than laboratory chemicals. Use eggshells (which is basically calcium carbonate) and cleaning vinegar (10% solution of acetic acid, twice as strong as normal vinegar). It will eventually produce calcium acetate. Wear gloves and eye safety while conducting the experiment (this should be a no-brainer when conducting any chemistry experiments). Here is a video demonstration. If possible, check the MSDS (material safety data sheet) of calcium acetate which provides an explanation on how to handle and dispose the chemical.
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4$\begingroup$ As an alternative to calcium, which is a bit dangerous to handle in class, as it produces caustic products in contact with wet skin, you might use magnesium metal pieces or strips (not the more flammable powder), to get magnesium acetate and hydrogen bubbles. $\endgroup$DrMoishe Pippik– DrMoishe Pippik2025-11-21 03:57:23 +00:00Commented yesterday
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2$\begingroup$ Whether eggshells are in scope depends on definition. If the intent is simply to show effervescence then the eggshells work. But if we want to specifically demonstrate a mtal/acid reaction then eggshells are the wrong stuff. $\endgroup$Oscar Lanzi– Oscar Lanzi2025-11-21 10:38:01 +00:00Commented 21 hours ago
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$\begingroup$ Agree. If the end result is to show effervescence and to show calcium acetate as end product, then yes eggshells works. Let me clarify the post. @OscarLanzi $\endgroup$Nilay Ghosh– Nilay Ghosh2025-11-21 11:19:50 +00:00Commented 20 hours ago
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Assuming you intend to show specifically the reaction of metals with acid, you can proceed safely with alternatives that are safer and likely easier to get than calcium.
Magnesium. Preferably as pieces or straps rather than powder to minimize flammability, as Nilay Gjosh suggests.
Iron. You can just use nails or other iron/steel parts, which would be easy for the students to recognize. However, this reaction may be slow.
Zinc. Available as a coating on galvanized parts, and reacts faster with the acid than iron.
As a more advanced demonstration, you can try copper which does not react, but then add thiourea and set off the reaction. This demonstrates the effect of complex ion formation, which copper does strongly with thiourea.
