Question

What happens when the solution containing potassium cyanate and ammonium sulphate is evaporated to dryness.

Answer 1

Hint: Evaporation means changing the liquid phase to complete gas or water vapors. A chemical reaction includes a chemical change that can form new products by the reaction between two or more substances called reactants. Potassium cyanate has the formula KCNO that reacts with ammonium sulphate to form a new product.

Complete answer:
We have been given to detect what will happen if potassium cyanate reacts with ammonium sulphate and is evaporated to dryness. Potassium cyanate is KCNO, while ammonium sulphate has the formula${{(N{{H}_{4}})}_{2}}S{{O}_{4}}$. The reaction between the two is a form of a double displacement reaction, where potassium and ammonium ions that are cations replace each other’s positions. The reaction is:
$2KCNO+{{(N{{H}_{4}})}_{2}}S{{O}_{4}}\to 2N{{H}_{4}}CNO+{{K}_{2}}S{{O}_{4}}$
The products formed are ammonium cyanate and potassium sulphate. The ammonium cyanate formed, undergoes rearrangement to form a known product called as urea as:
$N{{H}_{4}}CNO\xrightarrow{rearrangement}{{H}_{2}}NCON{{H}_{2}}$
Hence, when the solution containing potassium cyanate and ammonium sulphate is evaporated to dryness, then ammonium cyanate and potassium sulphate are formed. Ammonium cyanate when rearranged forms a compound called urea.

Note:
Urea is a crystalline compound that is nitrogen contained by products of various metabolic processes in humans. Urea is used as an important fertilizer, which is also used in the processing of various important substances including plastic polymers. Potassium cyanate is also used as a raw material for various organic processes.