Question

Ammonia is a pungent smelling gas. How does ammonia convert into liquor ammonia?

Answer 1

Hint: Liquor ammonia also known as ammonium hydroxide is an aqueous solution of ammonia with chemical formula $N{H_4}OH$. It generally exists in its ionic state in the aqueous solution i.e., in the form of ammonium ions $NH_4^ + $ and hydroxide ions $O{H^ - }$.

Complete answer: Ammonia is a colourless gas with a pungent smell. The chemical formula of ammonia is $N{H_3}$. It has various applications in day-to-day activities like it is widely used in the production of plastics, dyes, explosives and other household cleansing products. Under standard conditions, ammonia exists in its gaseous phase that means it does not consist of any water content.
When the ammonia gas is dissolved in water, then the formation of an ammonia solution takes place which is known as liquor ammonia or aqua ammonia. When water is added to ammonia then the reaction proceeds as follows:
$N{H_3}(g) + {H_2}O(l) \to N{H_4}OH(aq.)$
Hence, the liquor ammonia consists of water content and is prepared when ammonia gas is dissolved in water.

Additional information-
Aqueous ammonia or liquor ammonia is also used in laboratories for qualitative inorganic analysis as a base. It is usually found in the solutions which are used to clean jewellery made of gold, silver and platinum but it has adverse effects on gems like pearls and opals.

Note:
It is important to note that, although the name of liquor ammonia i.e., ammonium hydroxide suggests a basic compound with composition $NH_4^ + O{H^ - }$ but in actual, it is impossible to isolate the sample of $N{H_4}OH$. Hence, the ammonium ions and the hydroxide ions do not account for the overall amount of ammonia until the solution is considered extremely dilute.