Question

A magnesium ribbon is burnt in oxygen to give a white compound X accompanied by the emission of light. If the burning ribbon is now placed in an atmosphere of nitrogen, it continues to burn and forms a compound Y. (a) Write the chemical formulae of X and Y.

Answer 1

Reaction of Magnesium ribbon with oxygen:

• When magnesium ribbon is burnt in oxygen it produces magnesium oxide which is a white-colored compound.
• The chemical reaction can be depicted as:

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

Reaction of Magnesium with Nitrogen:

• When magnesium ribbon is burnt in the atmosphere of nitrogen, then magnesium nitride is formed.
• The chemical reaction can be depicted as:

$\underset{\mathrm{Magnesium}}{3\mathrm{Mg}\left(\mathrm{s}\right)}+\underset{\mathrm{Nitrogen}}{{\mathrm{N}}_2\left(\mathrm{g}\right)}\to \underset{\mathrm{Magnesium}\mathrm{nitride}}{{\mathrm{Mg}}_3{\mathrm{N}}_2\left(\mathrm{s}\right)}$

Thus, compound X is Magnesium oxide $\left(\mathrm{MgO}\right)$ and compound Y is Magnesium nitride $\left({\mathrm{Mg}}_3{\mathrm{N}}_2\right)$.