Question

What is the ionic compound formula of magnesium nitrate?

Answer 1

Hint: Magnesium nitrate is an ionic compound, to figure out its ionic formula, we need to find out the constituting atoms and charges on them. It contains two ions – magnesium and nitrate. The nitrate ion is formed from nitrogen and oxygen atoms.

Complete answer:
Ionic compounds are formed when positive and negative ions share electrons and form ionic bonds. The strong attraction between positive and negative ions often produces a crystalline solid with a high melting point. Ionic bonds form in place of covalent bonds when there is a large difference in electronegativity between the ions. Positive ions, called cations, are listed first in the formulas of ionic compounds, followed by negative ions, called anions. A balanced formula has no net or neutral charge.
Magnesium nitrate is an ionic compound made up of magnesium $ Mg^{2+}$ cations and nitrate $ {(N{O_3})^ - } $ polyatomic anions.
For these two ions to bond, the charges must be equal and opposite in sign. Therefore, two nitrate ions will be needed to balance magnesium $ + 2 $ . This will create the recipe for the ionic compound formula of magnesium nitrate $ Mg{(N{O_3})_2} $ .

Note:
Magnesium nitrate is a compound that appears white. As is already known, nitrate is a polyatomic ion consisting of oxygen and nitrogen with the formula $ NO_3^ - $ , which clearly shows that it is an anion with one negative charge. It is well known that a magnesium atom can form a cation by donating two electrons to realize a stable electron configuration. Thus, the magnesium cation and the polyatomic anion of nitrate combine with each other to form a neutral salt compound with the formula of magnesium nitrate. Therefore, the chemical formula for magnesium nitrate is given as $ Mg{(N{O_3})_2} $ . It can exist in either anhydrous or hydrated form. So the chemical formula for magnesium nitrate can be written as $ Mg{(N{O_3})_2}.{({H_2}O)_x} $ , where $ $ x = 6,2,0 $ $ .