Final answer:
The statement that aqueous iron(III) chloride reacts with solid magnesium is true. Magnesium acts as a reducing agent and iron(III) chloride as an oxidizing agent, resulting in the formation of magnesium chloride and iron(II) chloride.
Step-by-step explanation:
Aqueous iron(III) chloride reacts with solid magnesium yielding magnesium chloride as one of the products. This type of reaction involves a redox process where magnesium acts as the reducing agent and iron(III) chloride acts as the oxidizing agent.
During the reaction, solid magnesium transfers its electrons to the iron(III) ions in the solution, thus reducing them to iron(II) ions. Meanwhile, the magnesium atoms become magnesium ions which combine with chloride ions to form magnesium chloride. The overall reaction can be represented by the following chemical equation:
Mg(s) + 2FeCl3(aq) → MgCl2(aq) + 2FeCl2(aq)
This process can be further demonstrated through electrolytic cells where solid magnesium can serve as the anode and aqueous iron(III) chloride plays a role in the cathodic reaction.