Question

Commercial cold packs and hot packs are available for treating athletic injuries. Both types contain a pouch of water and a dry chemical. When the pack is struck, the pouch if water breaks, dissolving the chemical, and the solution becomes either hot or cold. Many hot packs use magnesium sulfate, and many cold packs use ammonium nitrate. Write reaction equations to show how these strong electrolytes break apart in water

Short answer

The reaction equations of the strong electrolytes breaking apart in water are:

$$\begin{gathered} N{H}_{4}N{O}_3\left(s\right)\to N{H}_4^{+}\left(aq\right)+N{O}_3^{-}\left(aq\right) \\ MgS{O}_4\left(s\right)\to M{g}^{2+}\left(aq\right)+S{O}_4^{2-}\left(aq\mathit{\right)} \end{gathered}$$

Step-by-step solution

Definition of Strong electrolytes

A solution that is an electrolyte that completely dissociates in solution is defined as strong electrolyte.

Reaction equations for strong electrolytes breaks into water

Hot packs:

When magnesium sulfate, MgSO₄ is dissolved in water it will be dissociated to: Mg²⁺ and SO₄^2- ions

${\text{MgSO}}_{\text{4}}\text{+ water}\to {\text{Mg}}^{\text{2 +}}\text{+ S}{{\text{O}}_{\text{4}}}^{\text{2 -}}$

Cold packs:

When ammonium nitrate is dissolved in water, ammonium cation and nitrate anions are formed:

${\text{NH}}_{\text{4}}{\text{NO}}_{\text{3}}\to \text{N}{{\text{H}}_{\text{4}}}^{\text{+}}\text{+ N}{{\text{O}}_{\text{3}}}^{\text{-}}$