Question

solid magnesium (mg) reacts with aqueous iron(iii) chloride (fecl₃) to produce solid iron (fe) and aqueous magnesium chloride (mgcl₂). write a balanced chemical equation for this reaction.

Explanation:

Step1: Write the un - balanced chemical equation

The reaction is \(Mg(s)+FeCl_{3}(aq)\to Fe(s)+MgCl_{2}(aq)\)

Step2: Balance the chlorine atoms

The least common multiple of \(3\) (from \(FeCl_{3}\)) and \(2\) (from \(MgCl_{2}\)) is \(6\). So, we put a coefficient of \(2\) in front of \(FeCl_{3}\) and \(3\) in front of \(MgCl_{2}\):
\(Mg(s)+2FeCl_{3}(aq)\to Fe(s)+3MgCl_{2}(aq)\)

Step3: Balance the magnesium and iron atoms

Now, for magnesium, we have \(3\) \(Mg\) atoms on the right - hand side. So we put a coefficient of \(3\) in front of \(Mg\). For iron, we have \(2\) \(Fe\) atoms on the left - hand side. So we put a coefficient of \(2\) in front of \(Fe\).
The balanced equation is \(3Mg(s)+2FeCl_{3}(aq)=2Fe(s)+3MgCl_{2}(aq)\)

Answer:

\(3Mg(s)+2FeCl_{3}(aq)=2Fe(s)+3MgCl_{2}(aq)\)