Answer to Question #119837 in General Chemistry for Tayla

Question

Ammonium hydroxide in solution reacts with magnesium chloride in solution.
Write the complete balanced equation, the complete ion equation (showing all entities), and
the net ionic equation. Identify spectator ions.

Answer 1

$MgCl_2 + 2NH_4OH → Mg(OH)_2 (\downarrow)+ 2NH_4Cl$

This is not a redox reaction (as there is no change in oxidation state of the entities),but simply a dispacement reaction, thus no ionic equation exists.

Specator ions are those ions which stay dissolved in the solution and do not take part in the reaction.

In this reaction, Magnesium and Hydroxide ions combine to form a precipitate, but the ammonium and chloride ions remain dissloved in the reaction mixture.

Thus, spectator ions : $NH_4^+, Cl^-$