Question

Write a balanced chemical equation for the following.

Beryllium oxide is treated separately with aqueous HCl and aqueous NaOH solutions.

Answer 1

Beryllium oxide (BeO) is an amphoteric oxide and thus, it reacts with both acid (HCl) as well as base (NaOH) to give the corresponding products.

1. \[\ce{BeO + \underset{\text{(Acid)}}{2HCl}->BeCl2 + H2O}\]
2. \[\ce{BeO + \underset{\text{(Base)}}{2NaOH}->Na2BeO2 + H2O}\]