Author Question: Water is 88.88 percent oxygen by mass. Oxygen is exactly what a fire needs to grow brighter and ... (Read 65 times)

PhilipSeeMore · **on:** Jul 29, 2018

Water is 88.88 percent oxygen by mass. Oxygen is exactly what a fire needs to grow brighter and stronger. So why doesn't a fire grow brighter and stronger when water is added to it?

A) Oxygen in water is already reduced from the hydrogen atoms, so this oxygen atom no longer has a great attraction for additional electrons.
B) The oxygen is chemically bound to hydrogen atoms.
C) Oxygen in water is completely different from oxygen O2, which is what is required for combustion.
D) all of the above

Question 2

Iron atoms have a greater tendency to oxidize than do copper atoms. Is this good news or bad news for a home in which much of the plumbing consists of iron and copper pipes connected together? Explain.

A) This is bad news, since the iron atoms will be reduced by the copper atoms.
B) This is not a problem, since the strength of the copper will make up for the weakness of the iron.
C) It is bad news. The iron atoms will lose electrons to the copper atoms, which will pass those electrons onto oxygen atoms that are in contact with the surface.
D) This is not a problem since any electrons lost will be replaced by copper electrons.