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CaCo3+HCl CaCo3+2HCl----CaCl2+H2O +CO2 I don\'t understand where the 2comes from

ID: 76365 • Letter: C

Question

CaCo3+HCl CaCo3+2HCl----CaCl2+H2O +CO2 I don't understand where the 2comes from in HCL or CAClor why CO2 changed from CO3 please show me in steps Thanks CaCo3+HCl CaCo3+2HCl----CaCl2+H2O +CO2 I don't understand where the 2comes from in HCL or CAClor why CO2 changed from CO3 please show me in steps Thanks

Explanation / Answer

There is no cobalt involved in this reaction. The O is oxygen andshould be capitalized. What you have is this: CaCO3(s) + 2HCl(aq) ---> CaCl2(aq) +H2O(l) + CO2(g) Calcium carbonate + hydrochloric acid ---> calcium chloride +water + carbon dioxide This is an acid-base reaction where the HCl is the acid andCaCO3 is the base. It produces a salt (CaCl2)and water and carbon dioxide. For a chemical equation to be balanced, the sum of each type ofatom on one side of the equation has to be equal to the sum of thatsame type of atom on the other side of the equation. If they arenot, you have to make them equal by adding a number (coefficient)in front of some of the molecules. You can not change the numbersubscripts of the molecules themselves because that would changethem into completely different chemicals. That's why you need a 2 in front of the HCl. It means you have 2 Hatoms on the left hand side of the equation, which is equal to thenumber of H atoms on the right hand side. Also, you have 2 Cl atoms on the left hand side, which balances theCl atoms on the right hand side. In this reaction, after the HCl acid was added to theCaCO3, the Ca2+ ion separated from theCO32- (carbonate) ion and instead bonded withthe Cl- (chloride) ion in HCl to form CaCl2.Note that two Cl- ions were needed to balance the chargeon one Ca2+ ion. Also, the H+ from HClseparated from the Cl- and bonded with theCO32- ion formingH2CO3. But H2CO3 isunstable and immediately breaks down into H2O andCO2. Hope this helps :)