Question

Zinc on reaction with steam liberates ______ gas.

Short answer

Answer: Hydrogen gas (H2) is released when zinc reacts with steam.

Step-by-step solution

Write down the balanced chemical equation

When zinc reacts with steam, the balanced chemical equation for the reaction is: Zn (s) + H2O (g) → ZnO (s) + H2 (g) Here, zinc (Zn) reacts with steam (H2O) to form zinc oxide (ZnO) and release a certain gas.

Identify the gas produced

In the balanced chemical equation from Step 1, we can see that the gas produced is hydrogen gas (H2). This means that when zinc reacts with steam, hydrogen gas is released. So, the answer to the given exercise is that zinc on reaction with steam liberates hydrogen gas.