A student balanced the chemical equation for the reaction of magnesium with oxygen by writing Mg + O2 ? MgO2. What is wrong with
2 answers:
Answer:
There must be an additional Mg atom.
Explanation:
The valence of Mg is +2 which means it can give two electrons to any other element thereby forming chemical bond. For this, there is requirement of an element which has valence of -2 or an element which has a deficiency of 2 electron to reach stable state. Oxygen has a valency of -2 which means it can take two electrons from a donor element such as Mg.
In a balanced equation the number of electrons/atom/molecule/ion/radicals
on the right and left side of equation must be equal.
So the balanced equation between Mg and O will be -
You might be interested in