Final answer:
When sodium is dropped in ethanol, it reacts to form sodium ethoxide and hydrogen gas with a less vigorous reaction than in water, avoiding the violent reaction and ignition of hydrogen that occurs with water.
Step-by-step explanation:
When a small piece of sodium is dropped in ethanol, a chemical reaction occurs, but it is much less vigorous than the reaction of sodium with water. In water, sodium reacts to form sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and hydrogen gas (H2), which is often an explosive reaction with larger pieces of sodium.
However, in ethanol, sodium ethoxide and hydrogen gas are produced, usually without the vigorous reaction seen with water. The reaction can be represented as:
2Na + 2CH3CH2OH → 2CH3CH2O-Na+ + H2
The sodium ethoxide (CH3CH2O-Na+) is soluble in ethanol, and the hydrogen gas produced is less likely to ignite compared to the reaction with water due to the different properties and lower reactivity of ethanol.