Question

When Magnesium ribbon is burnt in air, it combines with oxygen to form ________

Answer 1

Magnesium $\left( {Mg} \right)$ is a Group-2 metal having atomic number 12. It has two electrons in the outermost s-orbital. Magnesium is a shiny grey solid. It is very light in mass and is widely used in manufacturing.

Complete answer:
Magnesium is a very reactive metal. When Magnesium ribbon is burnt in air , it combines with oxygen to form magnesium oxide $(MgO)$ along with heat and light.
$2Mg + {O_2} \to 2MgO$
When magnesium burns in air, white powdered magnesium oxide $\left( {MgO} \right)$ is formed. This process is exothermic, heat is released. Along with heat, light is also produced. Approximately $10\%$ of energy of combustion occurs as light.
In this process magnesium loses its two electrons to the oxygen atom in order to form magnesium oxide.
It should be noted that magnesium (powder and ribbon) is used in flash powders and bulbs, incendiary bombs and signals.
The burning magnesium ribbon produces light of sufficient intensity and intense heat. While doing experiments one must be careful as the heat can cause burns.

Additional Information: Magnesium has many applications. It is used to prepare alloys with aluminium, zinc, manganese and tin. Magnesium and aluminium alloy being light in mass are used in construction of aircrafts. A suspension of magnesium hydroxide in water is used as an antacid in medicine. Magnesium carbonate is an ingredient of toothpaste.

Note:
Magnesium being reactive metal, burns in air producing magnesium oxide accompanied with heat and light. We have also seen various applications of magnesium metal, it was found that magnesium is the third-most commonly used structural metal.