Which pair contains two oxides that are both amphoteric?
Question 1 Report
Which pair contains two oxides that are both amphoteric?
Answer Details
An amphoteric oxide reacts with both acids and alkalis, showing basic and acidic behaviour in turn. The standard pair at this level is aluminium oxide and zinc oxide: each dissolves in dilute acid to give a salt and water, and each also dissolves in warm sodium hydroxide solution.
\[\mathrm{Al_2O_3 + 6HCl \rightarrow 2AlCl_3 + 3H_2O}\]
Carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide are non-metal oxides and purely acidic, reacting with alkalis only. Magnesium oxide, copper(II) oxide, sodium oxide and calcium oxide are all metal oxides that react with acids only, so they are basic. Aluminium and zinc lie close to the metal and non-metal borderline, which is why their oxides show both characters.
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