High School

If a mass of 2.4 g of magnesium is burnt in air, 4.0 g of magnesium oxide is formed.

a. What kind of reaction is this? Explain your answer.

b. What was the mass of oxygen that reacted with the magnesium? Explain your answer.

Answer :

Sure! Let's break down the solution step by step:

### a) What kind of reaction is this?

This reaction is a combustion reaction.

Explanation:
- In this reaction, magnesium (Mg) is burning in the presence of oxygen (O₂) from the air to form magnesium oxide (MgO).
- Combustion reactions involve a substance reacting with oxygen, releasing energy in the form of light or heat.
- The general form of the reaction is:
[tex]\[
2 \text{Mg} + \text{O}_2 → 2 \text{MgO}
\][/tex]

So, when magnesium is burnt in air, it reacts with oxygen to form magnesium oxide, making it a combustion reaction.

### b) What was the mass of oxygen that reacted with the magnesium?

Explanation:
To find the mass of oxygen that reacted with the magnesium, we can use the law of conservation of mass. This law states that the mass of the reactants must equal the mass of the products in a chemical reaction.

Here are the given masses:
- Mass of magnesium (Mg): 2.4 grams
- Mass of magnesium oxide (MgO): 4.0 grams

According to the law of conservation of mass:
[tex]\[
\text{mass of magnesium} + \text{mass of oxygen} = \text{mass of magnesium oxide}
\][/tex]

We need to find the mass of oxygen (O), which we can determine using the equation:
[tex]\[
\text{mass of oxygen} = \text{mass of magnesium oxide} - \text{mass of magnesium}
\][/tex]

Substitute the given values:
[tex]\[
\text{mass of oxygen} = 4.0 \text{ grams} - 2.4 \text{ grams} = 1.6 \text{ grams}
\][/tex]

Therefore, the mass of oxygen that reacted with the magnesium is 1.6 grams.