How Formic acid reacts with mercuric chloride ?

Answer

### Step-by-Step Solution:

1. **Identify the Reactants**:
- The reactants in this reaction are formic acid (HCOOH) and mercuric chloride (HgCl2).

2. **Write the Initial Reaction**:
- When formic acid reacts with mercuric chloride, the reaction can be represented as:
\[ \text{HCOOH} + \text{HgCl}_2 \rightarrow \text{CO}_2 + \text{HCl} + \text{Hg}_2\text{Cl}_2 \]
- Here, carbon dioxide (CO2), hydrochloric acid (HCl), and mercurous chloride (Hg2Cl2) are formed.

3. **Balance the Reaction**:
- To balance the equation, we need to ensure that the number of atoms for each element is the same on both sides. The balanced equation is:
\[ 2 \text{HCOOH} + \text{HgCl}_2 \rightarrow \text{CO}_2 + 2 \text{HCl} + \text{Hg}_2\text{Cl}_2 \]

4. **Further Reaction of Mercurous Chloride**:
- The mercurous chloride (Hg2Cl2) can further react with formic acid:
\[ \text{Hg}_2\text{Cl}_2 + \text{HCOOH} \rightarrow \text{CO}_2 + 2 \text{HCl} + \text{Hg} \]
- In this reaction, mercury (Hg) is produced along with carbon dioxide and hydrochloric acid.

5. **Final Products**:
- The final products of the complete reaction of formic acid with mercuric chloride and mercurous chloride are:
- Carbon dioxide (CO2)
- Hydrochloric acid (HCl)
- Mercury (Hg) which appears as a gray solid.

### Summary of the Reaction:
- The overall reaction sequence can be summarized as:
1. Formic acid reacts with mercuric chloride to produce carbon dioxide, hydrochloric acid, and mercurous chloride.
2. Mercurous chloride then reacts with formic acid to yield carbon dioxide, hydrochloric acid, and elemental mercury.