Question

Hemoglobin in your blood does not use elemental iron. It uses iron in the form of Fe2+(aq).

Iron reacts with acid (represented as H+(aq)) to produce Fe2+(aq) and hydrogen gas.

Write a balanced chemical reaction, including phase symbols, to describe the reaction of iron with acid.

Write a hypothesis that may explain how and where neutral iron is converted to Fe2+ cation in the human body.

Answer 1

Explanation:

Balanced chemical reaction equation will be as follows.

     $2Fe^{2+}(aq) + 2H^{+}(aq) \rightleftharpoons 2Fe^{3+}(aq) + H_{2}(g)$

In human body, the neutral iron changes into $Fe^{2+}$(aq) cation. There will be an oxidation-half reaction and a reduction-half reaction. Equations for this reaction are as follows.

Oxidation: 2Fe^{2+}(aq) \rightleftharpoons 2Fe^{3+}(aq) + 2e^{-}[/tex] .... (1)

Reduction: $2H^{+}(aq) + 2e^{-} \rightleftharpoons H_{2}(g)$ ...... (2)

On adding both equation (1) and (2), the overall reaction equation will be as follows.

     $2Fe^{2+}(aq) + 2H^{+}(aq) \rightleftharpoons 2Fe^{3+}(aq) + H_{2}(g)$

Therefore, neutral iron is a part of Heme - b group of Hemoglobin and in an aqueous solution it dissolutes as a part of Heme group. Hence, then it becomes an $Fe^{2+}$ cation.