How does magnesium react with hydrochloric acid?

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Answer 1 · 2017-03-23T14:20:36

#"Magnesium metal + hydrochloric acid"#
#rarr# #"magnesium chloride + dihydrogen gas"#

Magnesium metal is oxidized to #Mg^(2+)#.

#Mg(s) rarr Mg^(2+) + 2e^(-)#

Protium ion is REDUCED to dihydrogen gas:

#H^+ + e^(-) rarr 1/2H_2(g)#

And thus the net ionic equation is, #Mg(s) + 2H^(+) rarr Mg^(2+) + H_2(g)uarr#

Overall:

#Mg(s) + 2HCl(aq) rarr MgCl_2(aq) + H_2(g)uarr#

Are all these equations balanced with respect to both MASS and CHARGE? If not they should be!