The active ingredient in Milk of Magnesia™ is Mg (OH) 2. Magnesium hydroxide is insoluble in water, so the product is a mixture of water, flavoring, and other ingredients to suspend the solid Mg (OH) 2. When someone suffering from acid indigestion takes this drug, the Mg (OH) 2 reacts with the HCl in the stomach. Classify this chemical reaction and write a balanced equation. (Include states of matter)

Question

Karli Beasley

Chemistry

8 June, 22:02

The active ingredient in Milk of Magnesia™ is Mg (OH) 2. Magnesium hydroxide is insoluble in water, so the product is a mixture of water, flavoring, and other ingredients to suspend the solid Mg (OH) 2. When someone suffering from acid indigestion takes this drug, the Mg (OH) 2 reacts with the HCl in the stomach. Classify this chemical reaction and write a balanced equation. (Include states of matter)

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Answers (1)

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Cierra Carrillo · Answer 1

Answer: This chemical reaction is a neutralization reaction between the Milk of Magnesia and the HCl from the stomach. The balanced equation is Mg (OH) 2 (s) + 2 HCl (aq) → MgCl2 (aq) + 2 H2O (l)

Explanation:

The reaction between the HCl and the Mg (OH) 2 is a neutralizacion reaction, because the HCl is a strong acid and the Mg (OH) 2 is a weak base, then both react and the pH of the medium will increase, so the stomach trouble will dissapear.

Mg (OH) 2 (s) + 2 HCl (aq) → MgCl2 (aq) + 2 H2O (l)

Magnesium hydroxide is a weak base due to its very limited solubility in water. This property is a great advantage when treating the excess of HCl in the stomach, because the Mg (OH) 2 molecule does not dissociated easily until it reacts with the hydrogen ion, H + of the HCl. So the effect of the Mg (OH) 2 will last longer until the annoyance dissapear.