Question

What is the chemical equation for the neutralization of nitric acid, `HNO_3`, with magnesium hydroxide, `Mg(OH)_2`, first with spectator ions and then without spectator ions?

Answer 1

Well, magnesium hydroxide is dibasic, and requires 2 equiv nitric acid for equivalence....

Explanation:

`Mg(OH)_2(s) + 2HNO_3(aq) rarr Mg(NO_3)_2(aq) + 2H_2O(l)`

...the net ionic equation is simply...

`HO^(-) + H^+ rarrH_2O(l)`...i.e. simply the garden variety acid-base reaction...