Question

predict the product of this combination reaction. Include thephysical state of the product and balance the reaction. Hint: You have aluminumand sulfide ions in your product. What are the charges of those ions? How wouldyou write the formula so that the charges cancel?

Answer 1

We are asked to predict a reaction having two solids as reactants. The reaction occurs in the solid phase. Initially the elements are in their natural state, so they will have an oxidation state equal to 0.

This is a combination reaction, so the product will be a combination of aluminum and sulfur.

When combined, aluminum has an oxidation state of +3, this means that it gives up its electrons. Sulfur has an oxidation state of -2. The resulting product will be aluminum sulfide (Al2O3). so, the reaction will be:

`Al_((s))+S_(8(s))\rightarrow Al_2^(+3)S_3^(-2)`

We must balance the equation.

Let's start with sulfur. We multiply each sulfur-containing molecule by its opposite. In other words, we multiply the S8 molecule by 3 and we multiply the S3 molecule by 8.

And to balance the aluminum we must multiply the aluminum molecule by 16. So, the balanced equation will be:

`16Al_((s))+3S_(8(s))\rightarrow8Al_2^(+3)S_(3(s))^2`

So, the answer, in summary, will be:

We obtain a product with the formula Al2O3. Al is an ion with a charge of +3, and S is an ion with a charge of -2.