Question

What happens when a metal reacts with dilute hydrochloric acid? Explain with the help of an example.

Answer 1

Metals react with dilute hydrochloric acid to give metal chlorides and hydrogen gas.

Sodium metal reacts violently with dilute hydrochloric acid to form sodium chloride and hydrogen.

\[\ce{\underset{Sodium}{2Na_{(s)}} + \underset{Hydrochloric acid}{2HCl_{(aq)}} -> \underset{Sodium chloride}{2NaCl_{(aq)}} + \underset{Hydrogen}{H2_{(g)}}}\]