a) A piece of burning magnesium was lowered into a gas jar containing nitrogen (11) oxide. State and explain the observations made. b) Write the equation for the reaction above? ?

a) The burning magnesium would react with the nitrogen (II) oxide gas to form magnesium oxide and nitrogen gas. The observations made would be a bright white light produced by the burning magnesium, followed by a color change in the gas jar from brown to colorless as the nitrogen gas is formed.

b) The equation for the reaction is:

3Mg + 2NO -> Mg3O4 + N2

a) Observations:

- The burning magnesium reacts with the nitrogen dioxide gas.
- A bright green flame is produced.
- White fumes of magnesium oxide are produced.
- The nitrogen dioxide gas is consumed.

Explanation:

The magnesium reacts with the nitrogen dioxide in a redox reaction. Magnesium is oxidized from 0 to +2, while nitrogen is reduced from +4 to +2. The green flame is caused by the excited nitrogen atoms as they return to their ground state. The white fumes of magnesium oxide are a solid product that forms as a result of the reaction.

b) Equation:

```
2Mg + 2NO2 → 2MgO + N2
```