LAQ : A bottle contains a dilute HCl solution a second bottle contains an aqueous solution of caustic soda and a third bottle contains an aqueous solution of NaCl

Question 6

A bottle contains a dilute HCl solution a second bottle contains an aqueous solution of caustic soda and a third bottle contains an aqueous solution of NaCl. With the help of a blue litmus paper only, how would you identify the contents of the three bottles?

Answer

To identify the contents of the three bottles using a blue litmus paper only, the following steps can be followed:

1. Take a blue litmus paper and dip it into the solution in the first bottle.
2. If the solution in the first bottle is HCl, the blue litmus paper will turn red due to the acidic nature of HCl.
3. Take another blue litmus paper and dip it into the solution in the second bottle.
4. If the solution in the second bottle is an aqueous solution of caustic soda (NaOH), the blue litmus paper will turn blue due to the basic nature of NaOH.
5. Take a third blue litmus paper and dip it into the solution in the third bottle.
6. If the solution in the third bottle is an aqueous solution of NaCl, the blue litmus paper will remain blue as NaCl is a neutral salt and does not affect the pH of the solution.

Therefore, by using a blue litmus paper, we can identify the contents of the three bottles as follows: Bottle 1 contains HCl, bottle 2 contains an aqueous solution of caustic soda (NaOH), and bottle 3 contains an aqueous solution of NaCl.