How can you stop a hydrochloric acid from being harmful? (6th grader level)

**Thecomputerguy101** · February 15th, 2014, 04:54 PM

Guys , how can I stop a hydrochloric acid from being harmful? Please answer in a 6th grade level. Thanks in advance

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**PhDemon** · February 15th, 2014, 04:59 PM

Dilute it with enough water so the pH is close to neutral (adding the acid to the water not vice versa if it is conc. HCl) or neutralise it with a base to give a salt and water.

**Dywyddyr** · February 15th, 2014, 05:16 PM

Originally Posted by PhDemon

Dilute it with enough water so the pH is close to neutral

That was my introduction - at grammar school - to hydrochloric (and most of the other) acids. Everyone was given test tubes, each with a different diluted acid, and told to drink them.
Just to show us that, treated correctly, acid, and chemicals generally, were nothing to be scared of.

**PhDemon** · February 15th, 2014, 05:21 PM

I think that would be frowned upon nowadays...

BTW did they taste noticeably sour?

**Dywyddyr** · February 15th, 2014, 05:30 PM

Originally Posted by PhDemon

I think that would be frowned upon nowadays...

I'd imagine HSE officials would have heart attacks ¹.

BTW did they taste noticeably sour?

It was 45+ years ago! I can't remember.

1 Those were days. I remember one after-school gym club where we'd discovered that you could take a climbing rope to the top of the wall bars (about 16 feet up), push it away from you to make it swing and then do a "tarzan-leap" to catch it and swing across the gym to the top of the next set of bars.
All great fun until my brother mistimed his leap and landed face-first on floor.
The only comment from the teacher was "Would you move your brother elsewhere please? He's bleeding and making a mess of the wooden tiling".

**PhDemon** · February 15th, 2014, 05:34 PM

I'll try and bring as much of the "old school" stuff as I can get away with back next year

**adelady** · February 15th, 2014, 07:41 PM

I'll try and bring as much of the "old school" stuff as I can get away with back next year

I very much doubt the H&S would let anyone nowadays give the kids some mercury and let them play with pushing beads of the stuff all over the lab bench as I vividly recall doing --- year 8 or 9 --- so that's more than 50 years ago.