Snow statues

Greenhouse chemistry Snow statues Making snow statues or snow scenes using a saturated solution of sodium chloride There are edited jumps in the movies clip 0 to 2m 14s Setting up the experiments 2m 15s to 2m 35s After approximately 2 hours 2m 36s to 3m 2s After approximately 4 hours 3m 3s to finish After approximately 7 and a half hours Five solutions were used Two solutions at the front or in the foreground Left = saturated sodium chloride solution + potassium ferrocyanide Right = saturated sodium chloride solution + potassium ferricyanide Three solutions at the back or in the rear of the shot as follows Left = saturated solution of Low salt, a mixture potassium chloride 51%, sodium chloride 48% and anti-caking agents 1%. The anti-caking agents are listed as magnesium carbonate, potassium hexacyanoferrate II and sodium hexacyanoferrate II. Middle or centre = saturated solution of sodium chloride made from sea salt, large crystals of sodium chloride with no additives explicitly stated on the bottle Right = saturated solution of cooking salt with ingredients listed as salt and an anti-caking agent sodium ferrocyanide A note on some chemical names Salt = sodium chloride Sodium ferrocyanide = sodium hexacyanoferrate II Potassium ferrocyanide = potassium hexacyanoferrate II Potassium ferricyanide = potassium hexacyanoferrate III Please note YouTube does not allow the use of brackets in these descriptions. When writing names of chemicals in chemistry brackets should be placed around the Roman numerals in the above chemical names. Questions 1 What is the chemical name and formula of common salt? 2 What is the chemical name and formula of the compound added to common salt in Low salt? 3 What is the health benefit of using Low salt instead of common salt, sodium chloride 4 What chemical is added to a saturated solution of sodium chloride to produce profuse white crystals that look like snow on a cardboard cutout shape? 5 What is the colour are the snow-like crystals formed if potassium hexacyanoferrate III is added a saturated solution of sodium chloride when carrying out these experiments? 6 What colour is hydrated iron III oxide and what name is used to refer to it in common English language? 7 Why are large crystals of sea salt of far greater purity than cooking salt or table salt used at home? 8 Why are chemicals such as magnesium carbonate and sodium ferrocyanide added to cooking salt or table salt? 9 What is another chemical name for potassium ferrocyanide and in what oxidation state is the iron in it? 10 What is another chemical name for potassium ferricyanide and in what oxidation state is the iron in it? 11 Find out the chemical formulae for the following a sodium ferrocyanide b potassium ferrocyanide c potassium ferricyanide Answers 1 sodium chloride NaCl 2 potassium chloride KCl 3 It is used to help reduce blood pressure 4 potassium ferrocyanide or potassium hexacyanoferrate II 5 yellow 6 orange, rust 7 Because chemicals often referred to as anti-caking agents are added to the sodium chloride, salt 8 To make the salt flow easily out of the container, even when moderate amounts of water are absorbed by the salt in humid atmospheres. Anti-caking agents stop the salt forming into lumps. 9 potassium hexacyanoferrate II and Fe2+ 10 potassium hexacyanoferrate III and Fe3+ 11 a to c It is not possible to write down the letters and symbols correctly in this description due to YouTube limitations, however they will be shown in a subsequent movie clip