Question

What happens when Magnesium burns in air? Write a balanced equation.

Answer 1

Part 1: Burning of magnesium in the air:

• When magnesium burns in the air, it reacts with oxygen present in the air to form Magnesium oxide, which is a powder white in color and releases heat and light.

Part 2: Reaction involved:

• The equation for the reaction is-
• $\underset{\mathrm{Magnesium}}{\mathrm{Mg}\left(\mathrm{s}\right)}+\underset{\mathrm{Oxygen}}{{\mathrm{O}}_2\left(\mathrm{g}\right)}⟶\underset{\mathrm{Magnesium}\mathrm{oxide}}{\mathrm{MgO}\left(\mathrm{s}\right)}$

Balancing-

• We multiply the $\mathrm{MgO}$ molecule on the product side by 2 to balance the number of oxygen on the reactant side.
• Now, we multiply $\mathrm{Mg}$ on the reactant side by 2 to balance the number of $\mathrm{Mg}$ atoms on the product side.
• Hence, the balanced reaction is-
• $2\mathrm{Mg}+{\mathrm{O}}_2⟶2\mathrm{MgO}$