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Magnesium burns in the presence of carban dioxide and forms magnessium oxide and carbon. explain |
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Answer» l Concepts Demonstrated: ACTIVE metal chemistry, the limited USEFULNESS of CO2 fire extinguishersDemonstration:A slab of dry ice is cut in half and a SMALL "crater" is melted into one of the pieces.An ignited magnesium strip is placed in the "crater", and the other half of the dry ice is placed on top.Observations: The magnesium strip burns brightly in the air, but continues to burn in the carbon dioxide environment.Explanations (including important chemical equations): This reaction is a combustion and oxidation. What's unusual, however, is that magnesium is reactive enough to be COMBUSTED and oxidized in a reaction with carbon dioxide: 2 Mg + CO2 -> 2 MgO + C Under normal combustion/oxidation circumstances, oxygen is the reactant. Carbon dioxide fire extinguishers work by smothering a fire in carbon dioxide. This is only an effective means of extinguishing a fire if carbon dioxide itself cannot be used as a fuel source. |
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