Question

What informations are provided by the chemical equation:
$2Mg + {O_2} \to 2MgO$

Answer 1

Hint:A chemical equation is an equation which shows the substances involved in a chemical reaction. The substances that react with each other are reactants. The reactants form new substances on combining known as the products.

Complete answer:
A chemical equation under study must always be balanced. A balanced chemical reaction is a reaction which has equal numbers of atoms of each element on both sides of an equation. A balanced chemical equation is one which follows the law of conservation of mass at all times.
From the law of conservation of mass, we know that matter can neither be created nor destroyed and nor can one element change into the other in a chemical reaction, thus the amount of each element must be the same throughout the entire reaction. For example, the number of atoms of any element in the reactants will be always equal to the number of atoms of that element in the products formed.
The chemical equation given in the question $2Mg + {O_2} \to 2MgO$ gives us the information that:
Magnesium and oxygen combine to form magnesium oxide.
Two atoms of magnesium in reaction with one molecule of dioxygen yields two molecules of magnesium hydroxide.

Note:
It should be made sure before we study a chemical equation that it is completely balanced and the number of atoms of each element are equal on both sides of the equation. A skeletal equation is an unbalanced chemical equation and does not follow the law of conservation of mass. It just denotes the reaction occurring but not the amount of the chemicals used or produced.