Question

Write proper symbols for x and y in the following chemical equation.

$2\mathrm{Mg}\left(\mathrm{s}\right)+{\mathrm{O}}_2\left(x\right)\to 2\mathrm{MgO}\left(y\right)$

Answer 1

Physical state:

The state of matter in which the compound or molecules exist is called the physical state and is represented within brackets. The symbols used in the chemical reactions represent the state of matter in which the substance exists.

Symbol for x and y:

Magnesium and Magnesium oxide exists in the solid (s) state whereas Oxygen exists in the gaseous (g) state only.

The complete chemical equation for the given reaction is shown below.

$$\begin{gathered} 2\mathrm{Mg}\left(\mathrm{s}\right)+{\mathrm{O}}_2\left(\mathrm{g}\right)\to 2\mathrm{MgO}\left(\mathrm{s}\right) \\ \left(\mathrm{Magnesium}\right)\left(\mathrm{Oxygen}\right)(\mathrm{Magnesium}\mathrm{oxide}) \end{gathered}$$