Question

What's the balanced equation for magnesium and hydrochloric acid?

Answer 1

Balanced chemical equation:

• “A balanced chemical equation is that in which the number of atoms of all elements on both the sides of the equation is equal.”
• It is based on the law of conservation of mass.

Balanced equation for magnesium and hydrochloric acid:

Step 1: Write the reaction in equation form.

• The reaction between Magnesium ($\mathrm{Mg}$) and Hydrochloric acid ($\mathrm{HCl}$) is given as:

$\mathrm{Mg}\left(\mathrm{s}\right)+\mathrm{HCl}\left(\mathrm{aq}\right)\to {\mathrm{MgCl}}_2\left(\mathrm{aq}\right)+{\mathrm{H}}_2\left(\mathrm{g}\right)$

Step 2: Count the number of atoms of each element on both sides

Element	Reactant side	Product side
$\mathrm{Mg}$	$1$	$1$
$\mathrm{H}$	$1$	$2$
$\mathrm{Cl}$	$1$	$2$

Step 3: Put $2$ before $\mathrm{HCl}$ to balance the number of $\mathrm{H}$ and $\mathrm{Cl}$ atoms on both the sides

• Now, the equation becomes

$\mathrm{Mg}\left(\mathrm{s}\right)+2\mathrm{HCl}\left(\mathrm{aq}\right)\to {\mathrm{MgCl}}_2\left(\mathrm{aq}\right)+{\mathrm{H}}_2\left(\mathrm{g}\right)$ ,This is the balanced equation for magnesium and hydrochloric acid.