Question

Why does hydrochloric acid not dissolve marble chips?

Answer 1

Is there a question here?

Explanation:

Anyway, this is a kinetic phenomenon. We can write the stoichiometric equation:

`CaCO_3(s) + 2HCl rarr CaCl_2(s) + H_2O(l) + CO_2(g)uarr`

Note that marble is a composite mixture of carbonate minerals, and here the composition `CaCO_3` is a reasonable approximation. `CaCO_3` is fairly insoluble in aqueous solution (most carbonates are!). And hence, if we grind up the marble finely, more surface area is exposed, and thus its reaction with added `HCl` should be more facile.