Question

Help me please I need help on my test

Two students are discussing how to predict the products of the reaction below.
AICI 3 + Li →
Student A claims that lithium will replace aluminum in the product, while student B
claims that lithium will replace chlorine in the product.

Determine the validity of each students' claim and defend your answer.

Student A is correct because lithium and aluminum are both cations.

Student A is correct because lithium and aluminum are both anions.

Student B is correct because lithium and aluminum are both cations.

Student B is correct because lithium and aluminum are both anions.

Answer 1

Student A is correct because lithium, a more reactive metal, displaces aluminum in aluminum chloride to form lithium chloride and aluminum metal.

Step-by-step explanation:

When lithium reacts with aluminum chloride (AlCl3), it leads to a single displacement reaction where lithium, being more reactive, will replace aluminum to form lithium chloride (LiCl) and aluminum will be released as a separate element. Since both lithium and aluminum are cations, the correct prediction would be that lithium will replace aluminum in the product, which aligns with Student A's claim that lithium and aluminum are both cations.

The reaction between lithium and aluminum chloride could be represented as:

3 Li (s) + AlCl3 (s) → 3 LiCl (s) + Al (s)