- Collect the necessary materials. You will need a test tube, HCl, zinc granules, and a burner.
- Place a few granules of zinc into the test tube.
- Add about 10mL of HCl to the test tube.
- Place the test tube on the burner and heat the mixture until the zinc granules dissolve.
- After the zinc granules dissolve, bubbles will form in the mixture.
- Collect the gas bubbles in a gas jar.
- Test the gas to confirm that it is hydrogen.
The reaction formula for the preparation of hydrogen using HCl and zinc granules is as follows:
Zn + 2HCl → ZnCl2 + H2
Displacement reactions like this one involve the exchange of elements in compounds. In this case, zinc (Zn) is displacing the hydrogen (H) in the hydrochloric acid (HCl) to form zinc chloride (ZnCl2) and hydrogen (H2).