The constituents of water?
When water is changed into a gas by boiling why doesn't it change back to oxygen and hydrogen? Why does it become steam?
Answer:
Let's look at this in what is probably the easiest way possible, because you're asking on a website rather than reading a textbook.
So Hydrogen starts off with one electron. It wants one more in order to fill its first energy level. Oxygen in its natural state has six electrons, so it wants two more in order to satisfy the octet rule. So the atoms then share electrons in what is known as covalent bonding so that all three atoms (two hydrogens, one oxygen) have filled energy levels.
The formation of water is a chemical change. Boiling is a physical change- it effects only the physical state of the matter involved, not the chemical makeup. And like I said above, as water, all three atoms are, in a third-graders' chemistry terms, happy.
H2O
2 atoms of hydrogen and 1 atom of oxygen are the constituents of water.
Not sure how the molecules merge, but the water/steam temperature (energy) range is too small to rip the molecule apart.
I think temperatures in excess of 1500 degrees are needed to split the molecule apart.
Electricity will also do it through electrolosis, but again it takes a lot of energy.
because of strong molecular forces i guess
The simplest answer at this stage is hydrogen & oxygen gas does not combine under normal condition. But need drastic condition to combine n the reaction is violent i.e heat is released in the formation of water. To seprate back water to its constituents high energy is needed(2500 degree celcius) that is not enough when boiling. But when a strong electricity(electric arc) is passed through water, it split into H2 & O2.
When Hydrogen is burned, it reacts with the Oxygen of the air, generating heat (exothermic) to form Water.
2 Atoms of Elemental Hydrogen chemically combine (Co-valently), with1 Atom of Elemental Oxygen to become 1 Molecule of Water...a COMPOUND, having entirely different characteristics and properties to those of its constituents as Hydrogen Oxide (H-O-H).. H2O.
A compound cannot be broken down by Physical means, only by another chemical reaction.
Water therefore can change its Physical state by Freezing or Boiling but remains water in one of the three states of matter.
well, that's the wonder of water..water is naturally formed (i think) that is why even if you combine 2 atoms of hydrogen and 1 atom of oxygen, you can not get water from it...
:-)
It becomes steam because boiling only results in the intermolecular bonds (i.e bonds betw the water molecules) breaking, causing a change in state. It does not provide enough energy to break the intramolecular bonds (i.e. bonds betw H and O).
They combine through a process called covalent bonding where the electrons involved in bonding are shared.
Please not that the covalent bonds which hold the Hydrogens to the oxygen are very strong and would required an extremely large amount of energy to break. The energy provided to boil the water is insufficient to break the covalent bonds. However between individual molecules of water there are weaker forces of attraction and when broken the water molecules can then move farther apart from each other until a gas (i.e- steam) is formed.
When bonds are formed between the hydrogen and oxygen energy (heat) is released in this case large amounts of energy is released that is why the reaction is explosive.
h2 is the fuel o2 is the oxidizer and a heat source will h2o to be produced this is the "electrical" bonding of 2 hydrogen atoms to one oxygen atom, this bond involves the sharing of electrons by the 3 atoms now called a molecule, if the molecule is in a cool state it is a liquid, cold state a solid and a hot state a gas, merely heating water will not break the bond of a water molecule so it remains a gas molecule of water or steam
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