Miss Fong: Yes. Let's imagine we are mixing a common acid like nitric acid and a common alkali - sodium hydroxide. When they react water and a salt called sodium nitrate is produced. Katie ...

Miss Fong: Yes. Let's imagine we are mixing a common acid like nitric acid and a common alkali - sodium hydroxide. When they react water and a salt called sodium nitrate is produced. Katie ...

The sodium reacts with water, leading to the formation of hydroxide ions, which makes the solution highly alkaline. This reaction is exothermic, meaning it releases a considerable amount of heat.

The potassium reacts with the water and gets very hot, producing potassium hydroxide and hydrogen gas which ignites. The reaction of the potassium with water is similar to the reaction of sodium in ...