Chapter 18.7, Problem 18.11E

To what temperature must magnesium carbonate be heated to decompose it to MgO and CO₂ at 1 atm? Is this higher or lower than the temperature required to decompose CaCO₃? Values of $\Delta G_f^{°}$ (in kJ/mol) are as follows: MgO(s), −601.2; MgCO₃(s), −1111.7. Values of S° (in J/K.) are as follows: MgO(s), 26.9; MgCO₃(s), 65.9. Data for CO₂ are given in Tables 6.2 and 18.1.