Question

What happens when: 

1. Sodium Azide is heated? 
2.  Lithium is heated with Nitrogen?
3.  Ammonium chromate is heated? 
4.  Nitrogen is heated with oxygen? 
5. The aqueous solutions of Ammonium chloride and Sodium nitrite are allowed to react? 

Hint:

Heating azides, chromates, or ammonium salts often leads to decomposition with the release of nitrogen gas. This property is widely used in airbags and analytical chemistry.

Answer 1

(1.) Sodium Azide is heated: 
When sodium azide (\(NaN_3\)) is heated, it decomposes to form sodium metal and nitrogen gas. 
\[ 2NaN_3 \; \xrightarrow{\Delta} \; 2Na + 3N_2 \uparrow \] This reaction is used in airbag inflation systems. 

(2.) Lithium is heated with Nitrogen: 
Lithium reacts directly with nitrogen on heating to form lithium nitride. 
\[ 6Li + N_2 \; \xrightarrow{\Delta} \; 2Li_3N \] Lithium nitride is the only stable alkali metal nitride. 

(3.) Ammonium chromate is heated: 
Ammonium chromate (\((NH_4)_2CrO_4\)) decomposes on heating to form chromium(III) oxide, nitrogen, and water vapor. 
\[ (NH_4)_2CrO_4 \; \xrightarrow{\Delta} \; Cr_2O_3 + N_2 \uparrow + H_2O \uparrow \] 

(4.) Nitrogen is heated with Oxygen: 
At high temperature, nitrogen combines with oxygen to form nitric oxide (NO). 
\[ N_2 + O_2 \; \xrightarrow{\Delta} \; 2NO \] This is an endothermic reaction and occurs during lightning in the atmosphere. 

(5.) The aqueous solutions of Ammonium chloride and Sodium nitrite are allowed to react: 
Ammonium chloride reacts with sodium nitrite to produce nitrogen gas, sodium chloride, and water. 
\[ NH_4Cl + NaNO_2 \; \longrightarrow \; N_2 \uparrow + NaCl + 2H_2O \] 

Conclusion: 
These reactions demonstrate thermal decomposition, direct combination, and double decomposition reactions involving nitrogen and its compounds, producing nitrogen gas in several cases.