Do a cation of Mg^+2 and an anion of CO3^-2 become Mg(CO)3 or magnesium carbonite?
What about (NH4)2 SO4. What cation and anion does that become? I'm not seeing why SO would get 4 if it already has that to begin with. Thank you!
MgCO3 is magnesium carbonate. I don't know of a magnesium carbonite.
NH4SO4 ionizes as follows:
(NH4)2SO4 ==> 2NH4^+ + SO4^=
I don't understand your statement about the SO4. The 4 is a subscript and we assume on these boards that you know that. It would be written as
(NH4)2SO4 becomes
2NH4+ + SO4=
I hope that comes out ok.
MgCO3
One has a 2 charge and the other has a -2 charge. they both neutralize.
For the (NH4)2 SO4
NH4 has a +1 charge and SO4 has a -2 charge
As you can see from
(NH4)2 SO4
The 2 outside that paranthesis makes the charge a positive 2 which then makes the compound neutralized.
Sorry if my explanation is hard to understand.
To determine the correct formula for the compound formed by a cation and an anion, you need to consider the charges on each ion and ensure that the overall charge of the compound is neutral.
For the cation Mg^+2 (magnesium ion), the Roman numeral +2 indicates that it has a charge of +2.
For the anion CO3^-2 (carbonate ion), the superscript -2 indicates that it has a charge of -2.
To achieve a neutral compound, the charges of the cation and anion must cancel each other out. In this case, the common factor between 2 and -2 is 2. So, to neutralize the charges, you need two carbonate ions (-2) for every one magnesium ion (+2).
Therefore, the correct formula for the compound formed by a cation of Mg^+2 and an anion of CO3^-2 is MgCO3, which is magnesium carbonate.
Regarding (NH4)2SO4, the compound consists of the ammonium cation (NH4^+) and the sulfate anion (SO4^2-).
Note that the compound has two ammonium cations, which is indicated by the subscript 2.
The sulfate anion, SO4^2-, has a charge of -2
Thus, to achieve a neutral compound, two ammonium cations are needed to balance the charge of the sulfate anion.
Therefore, the correct formula for (NH4)2SO4 is (NH4)2SO4, which is ammonium sulfate. The subscript 2 indicates that there are two ammonium ions in the compound.
Regarding your question about SO4 having a charge of -4, it's important to understand that the overall charge in this case is -2, not -4. The superscript 2 in SO4^2- indicates that the sulfate ion has a charge of -2. The 2 in (NH4)2SO4 indicates that there are two ammonium cations present to balance the overall charge of the compound.