Sodium sulfate is a white powder that is very soluble in water, but it is not soluble in hexane (a liquid hydrocarbon). If added to barium nitrate dissolved wat

Question

Sodium sulfate is a white powder that is very soluble in water, but it is not soluble in hexane (a liquid hydrocarbon). If added to barium nitrate dissolved water, a white, insoluble precipitate will form. What would you expect to be some properties of potassium sulfate?

Answer 1

Hello Sophia. The key to this question lies in the fact that in the periodic table, elements within the same column have similar reactivity. Since potassium and sodium can be found in the same column we should expect potassium sulfate to exhibit properties similar to sodium sulfate.  Therefore, it may also be a white powder, is also soluble in water, is not soluble in hexane and will form a precipitate when mixed with barium nitrate.

 

wyatt