A student balanced the chemical equation for the reaction of magnesium with oxygen by writing
What is wrong with this equation?
The valences of the reactants indicate that the product should be Mg2O.
There is not the same number of each atom on both sides of the equation.
The valences of the reactants indicate that the product should be MgO.
The correct chemical equation for the reaction of magnesium with oxygen is:
2Mg + O2 -> 2MgO
The student's incorrect equation only has one magnesium atom on the reactant side, when in fact there are two magnesium atoms reacting with one molecule of oxygen.
so is it a b c or d
I apologize for the confusion. Based on the given options:
a. The valences of the reactants indicate that the product should be Mg2O.
This statement is not correct because the correct product should be MgO, not Mg2O.
Therefore, the correct answer is:
c. The valences of the reactants indicate that the product should be MgO.