When HCl reacts with finely powdered iron, it forms ferrous chloride and not ferric chloride. Why ?

Explanation

To understand why HCl reacts with finely powdered iron to form ferrous chloride (FeCl2) instead of ferric chloride (FeCl3), we can break down the reaction step by step:

### Step 1: Reaction of Iron with Hydrochloric Acid
When finely powdered iron (Fe) reacts with hydrochloric acid (HCl), the initial reaction can be represented as:
\[ \text{Fe} + 2\text{HCl} \rightarrow \text{FeCl}_2 + \text{H}_2 \]
This equation shows that iron displaces hydrogen from hydrochloric acid, forming ferrous chloride (FeCl2) and hydrogen gas (H2).
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