Question

Give an example of a chemical reaction in which a tremendous amount of heat is generated.

Answer 1

Hint: Reactants react with each other to form completely new products.There exits a difference in energies of reactants and products.This can lead to absorption or emission of energy in the form of heat.The heat generated is then put to secondary use in various industries like thermal energy production,Food industry etc.

Complete answer:
In a chemical reaction, reactants interact with each other to form products with new properties altogether.As chemical reactions proceed there might exist a difference in the energy levels of the reactants and their subsequent products.This gives rise to two different scenarios.
1) When the energy level of products is more than that of reactants-In this scenario the reaction will absorb energy in the form of heat from its immediate surroundings. Such a type of reaction is known as an endothermic reaction.
2)When the energy level of products is less than that of reactants-In this scenario the reaction will emit energy in the form of heat into its immediate surroundings. Such a type of reaction is known as an exothermic reaction.
In the above given question we need to provide an example of an exothermic reaction.
The best reaction where a tremendous amount of heat is generated is the reaction in which sodium reacts with water.
Sodium ( \[Na\] ) is a group 1 element.It’s an alkali metal and has very shiny appearance,apart from that it’s a very soft metal and can be cut easily with a knife.Due to it’s high reactivity it needs to be stored in gas chambers with inert gases or under mineral oil.It reacts very violently with water.
 $ 2N{a_{(s)}} + 2{H_2}{O_{(l)}} \to 2NaO{H_{(aq)}} + {H_{2(g)}} $
During the reaction Sodium hydroxide and Hydrogen gas is formed.The solution thus formed is basic in nature.The sodium metal gets so hot that it catches fire and burns with an orange colour.

Note:
The above reaction proceeds at a slower pace as compared to potassium with water however it’s faster than the reaction of lithium with water.Sodium is so reactive towards water molecules that when sodium is placed in ordinary air it immediately reacts with the moisture in the air leading to the formation of hydroxide film on the metal,this film starts absorbing the carbon dioxide in air thus forming sodium bicarbonate.