Asked by Chopsticks

Aqueous magnesium hydroxide has been used for many uears because it reacts with HCL to produce magnesium chloride

So far I got

Mg(pos. 2 charge)OH2(-1 charge) + HCL >>>>>>> Mg(+2 charge)Cl2(-1 charge) + H2O

did i get that rite?
Answered by Anonymous
Mg(OH)2 + 2HCl to MgCl2 +2H2O
Answered by Chopsticks
Why don't u use cross multiply Mg with OH

and have MgOH2 ?
Answered by Anonymous
because it is Magnesium Hydroxide, which has a charge of -1 and 2 atoms of both hydrogen and oxygen are needed to neutralize the charge
Answered by Chopsticks
The only way to balance polyatomic ions is to use paranthesis?
Answered by DrBob222
right. The OH ion is a unit consisting of 1 O atoms + 1 H atoms. The O atom has a charge of -2 and the H atom has a charge of +1; therefore, the OH ion has a NET charge of -1 and to show that it is an entity and not separate, we write it as (OH)^-1.