Question

Aluminum does not react with water at room temperature but reacts with both dil. HCl and NaOH solutions. Verify these statements experimentally. Write your observations with chemical equations. From these observations, can we conclude that Al is a metalloid?

Answer 1

Hint:To answer this question the periodic properties of the elements from different groups should be known. A periodic table is a great source of information about the elements and their relation to each other. Changes of different periodic properties. The elements in periodic tables are arranged in a way that every element of each group show similar physical characteristics and chemical characteristics

Complete step by step answer:
Aluminum does not react rapidly. When it is heated it reacts with water vigorously. But it reacts with both dil. HCl and NaOH solutions. This is because aluminum is amphoteric in nature.
Amphoteric metals form amphoteric oxides, amphoteric metals react with both acid and base. In general, the electropositive character of the oxide’s central atom will determine whether the oxide will be acidic or basic. The more electropositive the central atom, the more basic the oxide. The more electronegative the central atom, the more acidic the oxide.
The reaction of aluminum with NaOH solution as follows,
 \[2Al + 2NaOH{\text{ }} + 2{H_2}O \to 2NaAl{O_2} + 3{H_2}\]
The reaction of aluminum with dil. HCl is as follows,
 \[Al(s) + 6HCl(aq) \to 2AlC{l_3}(aq) + \,3{H_2}(g)\]
Now. The metal reacts with acids only, and non-metal reacts with base only. But metalloid reacts with both acid and base. As aluminum reacts with dil. HCl and NaOH, it is a metalloid.

Additional information:
Most of the cooking vessels are made of metals. As cooking is a process that involves using heat, the vessel of cooking should be tolerant of rapid temperature changes. To be heat tolerant that material should have a very high melting point.
As metals are good at conducting heat, it can transfer heat very quickly and evenly. Generally, copper, aluminum metals are used for cooking vessels as they are very good conductors of heat.
When any copper and alloy of copper metal surfaces come in contact with acidic foods, the copper may be leached into the food.

Note:Copper also reacts with dil HCl and produces hydrogen and it also reacts with NaOH.
The equations are as shown below,
 \[Cu(s) + 2HCl(aq) \to CuC{l_2}(aq) + \,{H_2}(g)\]
 \[Cu(s) + 2NaOH(aq) \to Cu{\left( {OH} \right)_2}(aq) + \,2Na(s)\]