What are the products of the reaction between hydrochloric acid and magnesium?

The reaction between hydrochloric acid (HCl) and magnesium (Mg) produces magnesium chloride (MgCl₂) and hydrogen gas (H₂). When magnesium reacts with hydrochloric acid, the magnesium displaces the hydrogen from the acid, resulting in the formation of magnesium chloride in solution and the evolution of hydrogen gas.

The balanced chemical equation for this reaction is:

[ Mg(s) + 2HCl(aq) \rightarrow MgCl₂(aq) + H₂(g) ]

In this equation, solid magnesium reacts with aqueous hydrochloric acid to form aqueous magnesium chloride and gaseous hydrogen. This is a typical example of a metal reacting with an acid.

Magnesium oxide and hydrogen, calcium chloride and oxygen, and magnesium hydroxide and water do not represent the products formed in this specific reaction. Magnesium oxide forms when magnesium reacts with oxygen, calcium chloride is unrelated to the reaction as it involves calcium, and magnesium hydroxide is typically formed in reactions with alkaline solutions rather than acidic ones. Thus, magnesium chloride and hydrogen are indeed the correct products of the given reaction.