L4 - Spontaneity of Redox Reactions (summary)

The spontaneity of a reaction is a very important aspect of chemistry, especially for storing chemicals for long periods of time.  Chemicals that would react with each other should never be placed next to each other because they will spontaneously react and could have dangerous results including noxious gases that can damage organic material (i.e. lungs, eyes), corrosive liquids that can damage materials (i.e. lab floors, bottoms of shoes), or harden into a solid that can become a hazard (i.e. polymerization).

As a student, the first reactions you saw as you learned about chemistry were relatively safer spontaneous reactions, like the baking soda and vinegar reaction, that would always react regardless of how much of each reactant was added.  Now that you are in Chemistry 30, you will now explore why reactants that when placed in the same container do not react.

When cleaning up a spill, it is important to know when to use water, soap, and paper towel as some chemicals in a science classroom will react and make the spill more dangerous when water is added.

Click here to see a simple straight forward way that scientists use to clean up most spills in a lab.

Consider the following questions as you complete this lesson:

• What are Oxidizing Agents and Reducing Agents?
• What happens when there are multiple oxidizing and/or reducing agents in a chemical reaction?
• How is the spontaneity of a reaction determined easily?