Chemistry: An Introduction to General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry (12th Edition)

Published by Prentice Hall
ISBN 10: 0321908449
ISBN 13: 978-0-32190-844-5

Chapter 10 - Section 10.6 - Reactions of Acids and Bases - Questions and Problems - Page 348: 10.44b

Answer

The complete equation for that reaction is: $Ca(s) + H_2SO_4(aq) -- \gt H_2(g) + CaSO_4(aq)$

Work Step by Step

$Ca(s)$ is a metal and $H_2SO_4$ is an acid. Therefore, this is a reaction between a solid metal and an acid, which will produce hydrogen gas $(H_2(g))$, and a salt. $Ca(s) + H_2SO_4(aq) -- \gt H_2(g) + Salt$ The hydrogen gas only contains hydrogen (H), so the salt must be made of $Ca$ and $SO_4$. The $Ca$ ion has a charge of $+2$, and $S{O_4}$ has that equal to: $-2$, so we would only need equal amounts to balance the charge of the ionic compound: $CaSO_4$ $Ca(s) + H_2SO_4(aq) -- \gt H_2(g) + Salt$ Now, we need to balance the equation. We can do that by putting a 2 before $HCl$: $Ca(s) + H_2SO_4(aq) -- \gt H_2(g) + CaSO_4(aq)$ The equation is already balanced.
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