To prepare magnesium sulfate (MgSO₄) from the reaction between magnesium powder (Mg) and sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄), the process can be represented in two main ways: the balanced chemical equation and the net ionic equation.
1. Balanced Chemical Equation
The balanced chemical equation for the reaction is:
\[ \text{Mg (s)} + \text{H}_2\text{SO}_4 \text{ (aq)} \rightarrow \text{MgSO}_4 \text{ (aq)} + \text{H}_2 \text{ (g)} \]
2. Net Ionic Equation
In this reaction, sulfuric acid completely dissociates into its ions in aqueous solution. The full ionic equation, before we simplify to the net ionic equation, is:
\[ \text{Mg (s)} + 2 \text{H}^+ \text{ (aq)} + \text{SO}_4^{2-} \text{ (aq)} \rightarrow \text{MgSO}_4 \text{ (aq)} + \text{H}_2 \text{ (g)} \]
However, since magnesium sulfate does not dissociate into its constituent ions in a way that changes the overall reaction, we can derive the net ionic equation from the full ionic equation:
The only species that participates in the chemical change are magnesium and the hydrogen ions:
\[ \text{Mg (s)} + 2 \text{H}^+ \text{ (aq)} \rightarrow \text{Mg}^{2+} \text{ (aq)} + \text{H}_2 \text{ (g)} \]
Since the sulfate ion (SO₄²⁻) is not being altered, the net ionic equation focuses solely on the substances that are changing.
Net Ionic Equation:
So the net ionic equation can be written as:
\[ \text{Mg (s)} + 2\text{H}^+ \text{ (aq)} \rightarrow \text{Mg}^{2+} \text{ (aq)} + \text{H}_2 \text{ (g)} \]
This summarizes the chemical reaction showing the essential components that undergo a change.