Question

Question:A ceramic that has been much used by artisans and craftsmen for the carving of small figurines is based on the mineral steatite (commonly known as soapstone). Steatite is a hydrated magnesium silicate that has the composition ${\mathbf{Mg}}_{\mathbf{3}}{\mathbf{Si}}_{\mathbf{4}}{\mathbf{O}}_{\mathbf{10}}{\left(\mathbf{OH}\right)}_{\mathbf{2}}$ . It is remarkably soft—a fingernail can scratch it. When heated in a furnace to about 1000⁰C , chemical reaction transforms it into a hard, two-phase composite of magnesium silicate (MgSiO₃) and quartz in much the same way that clay minerals are converted into mullite ( AI₆Si₂O₁₃ ) and cristobalite ( SiO₂ ) on firing. Write a balanced chemical equation for this reaction.

Short answer

Answer

$$\begin{gathered} M{g}_{3}S{i}_4{O}_{10}{\left(OH\right)}_2\stackrel{1000°c}{\to }3MgSi{O}_3 + Si{O}_2 + H_{2}O \\ Steatite magneisum quartz \\ silicate \end{gathered}$$

Step-by-step solution

Decomposition chemical reaction

There are certain chemical reactions in which a single reactant molecule can form two to three products on heating.

For example, when calcium carbonate is heated, it forms calcium oxide and carbon dioxide.

Similarly, the given chemical reaction heating of steatite at forms magnesium silicate and quartz.

Explanation

The balanced chemical equation consists of an equal number of atoms of each constituent element on both sides of the chemical equation.

The required balanced chemical equation is as shown:

$$\begin{gathered} M{g}_{3}S{i}_4{O}_{10}{\left(OH\right)}_2\stackrel{1000°c}{\to }3MgSi{O}_3 + Si{O}_2 + H_{2}O \\ Steatite magneisum quartz \\ silicate \end{gathered}$$