Thread: sulfuric acid + iron (ll) oxide > ?

Hi, I am confused over iron, iron (ii), iron (iii), when do I need to change them when doing an equation?

Why is Iron + hydrochloric acid > iron (ii) chloride + hydrogen, not iron chloride + hydrogen?

Thanks

The explanation for what charge to assign the Fe atom lies in the balanced equation for the reaction:

Fe (s) + 2 HCl (aq) ---> FeCl2 (aq) + H2 (g)

Each Fe atom is bonding with two Cl atoms on the product side of the reaction. With a total charge of -2 for those two Cl atoms (each of the two Cl atoms has a charge of -1), the charge on the Fe atom has to become +2 on the product side in order to balance the charge on the two Cl atoms and end up with a net zero charge on the FeCl2 molecule. That's why you end up with Fe(II)Cl2 on the product side in this reaction.