Question

When a small piece of sodium metal is dropped into a beaker of water, hydrogen gas (H2) and a solution of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) are products. The solution becomes warm.

Answer 1

The reaction is exothermic as the solution becomes warm.

Step-by-step explanation:

Hello there!

In this case according to the described reaction between sodium metal and water, we can write up the chemical equation whereas the products turn out to be sodium hydroxide and hydrogen gas:

`2Na+2H_2O\rightarrow 2NaOH+H_2`

Moreover, these reactions are known to be highly exothermic, for that reason the solution becomes warm as the reaction releases heat as it goes to completion.

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