Question

Explain Lavoisier’s experiment which provided evidence to the discovery of components in air.

Answer 1

Lavoisier’s experiment for the discovery of oxygen. Set up in apparatus as shown in the figure. When mercury oxide is heated in the retort, oxygen is collected in bell jar.

Observation:

1. A red layer was formed in the heated mercury surface in the retort.
2. The level of mercury in the trough rose by 1/5.

Conclusion: The active part of air removed by mercury on heating was named ‘oxygen’.The remaining inactive part of air in the bell-jar was named nitrogen.