Question

In the reaction given below, explain the experiment that you conduct to decide the product as a basic oxide.
$2{\text{Mg}} + {{\text{O}}_2} \to 2{\text{MgO}}$

Answer 1

Hint: Acidic, basic and neutral character of a solution can be found out by the concentration of hydrogen ions. Color change is the major indication of acidic or basic property. Acid conditions increase when pH value decreases. Basic conditions increase when pH value increases.

Complete step by step solution:
pH values range from 0 to 14 with pH 7 at \[{25^ \circ }{\text{C}}\]representing neutrality.
$2{\text{Mg}} + {{\text{O}}_2} \to 2{\text{MgO}}$
Litmus is a mixture of different dyes and is water-soluble. To check if the above given product is basic or not, we can just dip the bottom of the strip into the solution of magnesium oxide on a red litmus paper. If it changes to blue color, then it is basic. If it does not change color, it is acidic or neutral. Red litmus paper contains a weak diprotic acid which reacts with the base to form conjugate base which is shown as blue color. Litmus paper is of two colors-blue and red. So if you test the solution with one color, you don’t have to test with another. If the solution does not change color with any of the litmus paper, then it may be neutral.

Additional information:
pH balance is important in maintaining desirable aquatic ecological conditions in natural waters. To determine the pH value of a particular solution, we can use pH strips which have values corresponding to each color. These are dipped in the solution and the particular color corresponds to a particular value.

Note: There are many other methods to find the pH of a solution. Phenolphthalein and methyl orange are liquid indicators which are used to find the pH of solutions. Phenolphthalein turns pink in base and in neutral solution it is clear.