Question

Hydrocyanic acid is very:
(A) Explosive
(B) Bright
(C) Light
(D) Poisonous

Answer 1

Hint: Hydrocyanic acid is a colourless liquid. It dissipates very easily. It is a dangerous transparent liquid hence its transport is prohibited. When a person comes in contact with hydrocyanic acid, his face starts to turn red due to the haemoglobin change in the body.

Complete step by step answer:
- Hydrocyanic acid (HCN) is very light. Its vapour is lighter than air.
- Structure:
     \[H-C\equiv N\]
- It has a slight smell of almonds.
- It is very poisonous. When it comes in contact with the blood, it binds irreversibly to the iron atom of the haemoglobin. So, oxygen cannot be transported to the tissues and cells of the human body.
- It also disturbs the ATP in our body, which affects the metabolism of the body resulting in death as well.
- It is formed from the reaction of methane with ammonia in the presence of platinum catalyst at very high temperatures.
- Apricot pits, wild cherry syrup, chickpeas, cashews and some other fruits and vegetables contain a compound named Amygdalin which gets converted to HCN on digestion. Thus, the HCN formed has a harmful effect on our body.
- If a person is poisoned with cyanide, the treatment should be done as fast as possible.
- The haemoglobin-cyanide bond has to be broken and the person should be given oxygen for respiration.

So, the correct options is D.

Note: This acid should be handled with care and it has various serious side effects. Remember that apple seeds do not contain any HCN but they contain Amygdalin which gets converted to HCN in the process of digestion by certain enzymes. So consuming them in high doses is very bad for our body.