237,590 views
10 votes
10 votes
Seawater is a good source of magnesium. Magnesium is dissolved in the seawater as Mg²⁺. SUGGEST a substance that could be used to precipitate magnesium out of the water. Write a BALANCED CHEMICAL EQUATION and IDENTIFY THE REACTION TYPE to support your thinking

User Asking
by
2.4k points

1 Answer

12 votes
12 votes

Answer:

SO₄⁻² (aq) + Mg²⁺ (aq) ⇄ MgSO₄ (s) ↓

Precipitation reaction

Step-by-step explanation:

Mg²⁻ is one of the metals at group 2 in the Perodic Table. This group is called, the alkaline earth metals.

To make precipitate the Mg²⁺ we can use a salt of sulfate, either flouride or phosphate. Those are three salts that can precipitate this metal.

We use sodium as cathion so, first of all we dissociate them:

Na₂SO₄ (aq) → 2Na⁺ (aq) + SO₄⁻² (aq)

NaF (aq) → Na⁺ (aq) + F⁻ (aq)

Na₃PO₄ (aq) → 3Na⁺ (aq) + PO₄⁻³ (aq)

In all cases, the reaction is of the precipitation type and is conditioned by the Kps, the solubility product constant. Let's bond the anions with Mg²⁺.

SO₄⁻² (aq) + Mg²⁺ (aq) ⇄ MgSO₄ (s) ↓ Kps

2F⁻ (aq) + Mg²⁺ (aq) ⇄ MgF₂ (s) ↓ Kps

2PO₄⁻³ (aq) + 3Mg²⁺ (aq) ⇄ Mg₃PO₄ (s) ↓ Kps

User RemoteSojourner
by
3.3k points