We did this in a lab and nothing happened, but I'm pretty sure something was supposed to happen, so my question is:
What happens when you put a pellet of sodiumhydroxide on a watch glass and observe it for 5-10 minutes?
If there were hudidity in the air, it should have absorbed the water .
Absorbed the water in the air? Should have the pellets changed in actual physical or chemical form?
They change physical form. deliquiate is the operative word, you should have seen some of it on the surface.
What does it look like?
To observe the changes in a pellet of sodium hydroxide when placed on a watch glass, follow these steps:
1. Take a pellet of sodium hydroxide and place it carefully on a clean and dry watch glass.
2. Observe the pellet for 5-10 minutes.
If there is humidity in the air, sodium hydroxide may absorb water from the surrounding environment. Sodium hydroxide is hygroscopic, meaning it has a tendency to attract and absorb moisture from the air. This can cause the physical appearance of the sodium hydroxide pellet to change.
When sodium hydroxide absorbs water, it undergoes a process called deliquescence. Deliquescence is the ability of a substance to absorb enough moisture to dissolve and form a liquid solution. In the case of sodium hydroxide, it will dissolve in the absorbed water and form a concentrated solution of sodium hydroxide.
During the observation period of 5-10 minutes, if the humidity in the air was high enough, you should have seen the sodium hydroxide pellet undergoing deliquescence. The surface of the pellet would appear wet or moist, indicating the absorption of water. The pellet may also become softer or even dissolve completely, depending on the amount of moisture in the air.
It's important to note that if the humidity in the lab was low or the air was dry, you might not have observed any significant changes in the sodium hydroxide pellet within the given time frame. The extent of the physical changes would depend on the humidity levels and the hygroscopic nature of the sodium hydroxide.