Video Transcript
What products are formed when a
metal oxide reacts with hydrochloric acid?
In this question, we need to
identify the products of a reaction between hydrochloric acid and a metal oxide
compound. Since this problem focuses on
products, let us discuss that reactants are to the left of the reaction arrow in a
chemical equation and products are to the right.
Let us start by considering some
example chemical reactions between a metal oxide and hydrochloric acid solution as
reactants. Then, we can then describe the
generic equation for a reaction of hydrochloric acid and a metal oxide compound in
order to determine the products. Let us start with the reaction
between copper(II) oxide and hydrochloric acid.
In order for the products to form,
the cation Cu2+ from copper two oxide and the hydrogen one plus ion from
hydrochloric acid will switch places in this double-displacement reaction. When these ions exchange places,
the products are copper(II) chloride and water. The copper(II) chloride compound is
referred to as a salt compound.
Now, let us consider another
example of a different metal oxide with hydrochloric acid to determine if they
produce similar types of products. Let us identify the products that
form when sodium oxide reacts with an aqueous solution of hydrochloric acid. In order for the products to form,
the sodium one plus ion from sodium oxide exchanges places with the hydrogen one
plus ion from hydrochloric acid. When these ions exchange places,
sodium chloride and water are formed as products. The sodium chloride compound is
referred to as a salt compound.
When looking at the two examples,
we can see that metal oxide substances seem to make similar product types when they
react with hydrochloric acid. The reactants seem to make one salt
compound and water as well. We can now set up a generic
equation for the reaction of hydrochloric acid and a metal oxide compound. Therefore, the products formed when
a metal oxide reacts with hydrochloric acid are salt and water.
