Question

1. Dissolve 1 teaspoon of Epsom salts in a half cup of water.

2. Add 2 teaspoons of ammonia to the Epsom salts solution and stir thoroughly. Record your observations.
3. Allow the mixture to stand for 30 minutes and record your observations.

Observations:
Appearance after initial mixing
Appearance after 30 minutes

Analysis/Conclusion:
1. Balance the equation, if necessary, for the reaction between magnesium sulfate and ammonia. MgSO4 + NH4OH → (NH4)2SO4 + Mg(OH)2
2. Classify the reaction between magnesium sulfate and ammonia

Answer 1

1)
`MgSO_4 + 2 NH_4OH \longrightarrow (NH_4)_2SO_4 + Mg(OH)_2`

2) Double displacement reaction

Step-by-step explanation:

1) Balancing the equation:

The reaction:
`MgSO_4 + NH_4OH \longrightarrow (NH_4)_2SO_4 + Mg(OH)_2`

In a first look we see that the amonium cations are unbalanced so:

`MgSO_4 + 2 NH_4OH \longrightarrow (NH_4)_2SO_4 + Mg(OH)_2`

Checking element by element we can see that the equation is balanced

2) In this reaction, the amonium discplaces the Mg to form the amonium sulfate. This is a displacement reaction.

Given that it also forms another product (
`Mg(OH)_2`) it's categorized as a double displacement reaction.

Answer 2

1. The balanced equation for the reaction between magnesium sulfate and ammonia is MgSO4 + 2NH4OH → (NH4)2SO4 + Mg(OH)2
2. The reaction between magnesium sulfate and ammonia is double displacement.