Dose it have to be a specific paper like wax paper or can it be just regular computer paper?
Try putting Reynolds wrap in the neighbors pool and study the reaction LOL Pay attention more in class, this one is not so tough!!
Unfortunately for biologists, ion pairing is mostly memorization (at least at the lower levels of chemistry)You're right in that Al has a +3 charge, but chlorine is a halogen, and all halogens (with 7 electrons in the outer shell) have a charge of -1 because they are 1 e- away from a full octetTherefore, aluminum chloride is written: Al-Cl3 The approach to magnesium bromide is the sameMagnesium has a +2 charge, and bromine (a halogen) has a -1 charge: Mg-Br2 When you get to elements such as sodium and lithium, you are dealing with alkaline earth metals, which have a +1 chargeOxygen is a little trickier, but a general rule to follow is that oxygen is almost always -2 (for your purposes, this assumption is sound)Therefore: Na2-O Li2-O One of the simplest ways to remember charges of ions is to refer to the periodic tableElements in the same period (vertical columns) have the same charges (this isn't always true with transition metals, however)Hope this quick explanation helps.
Aluminum will lose those three electrons and thus get a +3 chargeChlorine gains one electron each to have a -1 chargeSo now what you do is combine the atoms in such a way to get a neutral compoundJust add more negative ions or positive ions to the combination so the positives and negatives cancel each other outIn this first example, three -1 chlorines will balance off one +3 aluminumSo the formula is AlCl3Okay, so for Mg and Br: Mg is +2, Br is -1You'll need to Br ions to balance off the MgSo the formula is(you take it from here)Na is +1, O is -2 And the Li and O is really simpleEmail me if you are stuck!
