154 
IOWA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 
Similar results were obtained with potassium amalgam,, 
and the reduction was about twice that produced under 
similar conditions by sodium amalgam. 
1. 25 c.c. 2N HC10 3 treated with about 10 grams of potassium amalgam 
required 2.9 c.c. N/20 silver solution, corresponding to 0.0053 HC1. 
2. 25 c.c. N HC10 3 treated with 10 grams potassium amalgam required 
1.5 c.c. N/20 silver solution corresponding to 0.0027 grams HC1. 
From the results there seems to be no doubt that both 
sodium and potassium amalgam are capable of reducing 
chloric acid, though the amount of the reduction is very 
small. In using mercury and an alkali metal there is the 
possibility that the reduction may be caused by the mer- 
cury. In the presence of such a strong electro-positive 
metal as sodium, however, this does not seem probable. 
Moreover, on attempting to dissolve mercury in chloric 
acid it was found that after heating at 40 degrees for four 
hours scarcely any reduction of the acid had taken place 
and the remaining mercury was collected, dried and 
weighed and corresponded within four milligrams to the 
original amount taken. The smallest amount of HC1 
found above corresponds to about 0.04 gram of mercury. 
Action of Chloric Acid on Magnesium . 
Magnesium in the form of the ordinary ribbon of com- 
merce was used. It was cleaned with emery paper and 
dissolved in an excess of normal chloric acid, 50 c.c. of the 
acid being used in each case. The amount of metal con* 
sidered, the reduction caused by magnesium is more pro- 
nounced than in the cases of the alkali metals. 
1. 0 2918 grams of magnesium gave 0.0065 grams HC1. 
2. 0.2170 grams of magnesium gave 0.0054 grams HC1. 
The results show in fact that about one-twentieth of the 
magnesium was used in reducing the chloric acid. The 
remainder, of course, dissolved to form the chlorate with the s 
evolution of approximately its equivalent of hydrogen. 
Since, as is well known, water containing salts in solution 
acts on magnesium with the evolution of hydrogen, it did 
not seem worth while to determine the amount of hydrogen* 
produced in the solution of the metal. 
