Ok can someone kind of talk me through this problem? If i know how to do one then i can do the rest. Its not homework! its a review sheet we just got today for a test tomorrow. So, it says, Write, balance, and classify the following equations The first one says Magnesium metal reacts with copper(II) chloride to produce magnesium chloride and copper metal Help meeee please p
Start by simply writing down what is on each side of the equation and what charge it has. The metals contain uncharged atoms. Chloride is always -1. Magnesium is +2. Copper(II) means it has a +2 charge. Mg + Cu2+(Cl-)2 - Mg2+(Cl-)2 + Cu If you count the number of each type of atom, you'll see that this equation is already balanced. There are one Mg, one Cu, and two Cl atoms on each side. Let's try one that actually needs balancing. Say it was sodium instead of magnesium. Sodium ion only has a +1 charge. Na + Cu2+(Cl-)2 - Na+Cl- + Cu This reaction is not balanced: the number of Cl ions is not the same on both sides. To balance the equation, you first need to change the ratio of Cu(Cl)2 to NaCl molecules. Na + Cu2+(Cl-)2 - 2 Na+Cl- + Cu Now the chlorides balance (there are two on each side), but the sodium ions are mismatched. Fortunately that's easy to fix. 2 Na + Cu2+(Cl-)2 - 2 Na+Cl- + Cu As long as you are working with neutral molecules, the charges on the ions should always balance because they sum to zero on both sides. However, they may prove helpful in figuring out what you need to balance the rest of the equation.
