Predict whether a chemical reaction occurs and write the balan...

Question

Predict whether a chemical reaction occurs and write the balanced molecular equation.

MgBr₂ (aq) + NaC₂H₃O₂ (aq) →

Accepted Answer

Here in this practice question, it says predict whether a chemical reaction occurs and write the balanced molecular equation. So step 1, we're gonna break up these ionic compounds into their different ionic forms. So we have magnesium bromide. Magnesium's in group 2 a, so it's 2 plus. Bromine is in group 7 a, so it's minus 1. Don't worry about the fact that there's 2 bromines here. We're just breaking them in breaking them up into their ions. Here we have sodium acetate. Sodium is in group 1 a, so it's plus 1. Acetate is a polyatomic ion, so c 2h302-1. Step 2 is opposite charges attract, we're gonna swap ionic partners. So we're gonna say here that plus 1 and minus 1, they're opposite charges so they're attracted to one another. If the numbers in the charges are exactly the same, when they combine they just cancel out. Remember, when you write an ionic compound, we traditionally write the positive ion first, followed by the negative ion. Our next product, when the numbers in the charges are different, they don't cancel out. Instead, they crisscross. So 2 comes over here and 1 comes over here. This gives us m g and that 2 is for the entire acetate ion so we put parenthesis and then the little 2. Let's think about our solubility rules because now we have to determine if a reaction has occurred. Reaction has occurred. Remember, it only occurs if you create a solid, liquid, water, or a gas. If we think about our solubility rules, n a is group 1 a element. Anything connected to group 1 a is soluble, so this is aqueous. And then we have magnesium acetate. Remember acetate, anything connected to acetate ion will also be soluble. We just created 2 aqueous products. And remember, we said that if we create 2 aqueous products, then we would say no reaction has occurred. So here we just stop and we say no reaction has happened. Later on when we talk about net ionic equations, we'll see exactly why that is. But for now, just realize when writing out your molecular equation, if you get 2 aqueous products, no reaction has occurred.

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Predict whether a chemical reaction occurs and write the balanced molecular equation.
MgBr₂ (aq) + NaC₂H₃O₂ (aq) →

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Predict whether a chemical reaction occurs and write the balanced molecular equation.
MgBr₂ (aq) + NaC₂H₃O₂ (aq) →