The rate of a chemical reaction is affected by several factors, one of which is the surface area of the reactants. In the case of the reaction between magnesium ribbon and hydrochloric acid, the surface area plays a significant role in determining the reaction rate.The reaction between magnesium and hydrochloric acid can be represented by the following balanced chemical equation:Mg s + 2HCl aq MgCl aq + H g When a small piece of magnesium ribbon is reacted with hydrochloric acid, the reaction rate is relatively slow. This is because the surface area of the magnesium ribbon is limited, and only the outer surface of the ribbon is exposed to the hydrochloric acid. As the reaction progresses, the magnesium atoms on the surface react with the hydrochloric acid, producing magnesium chloride and hydrogen gas. The reaction rate is limited by the available surface area for the reactants to come into contact with each other.Now, let's consider the case of powdered magnesium ribbon. When the magnesium is in powdered form, the total surface area of the magnesium particles is significantly increased compared to the solid ribbon. This means that there are more magnesium atoms exposed to the hydrochloric acid, allowing for more collisions between the reactant particles. As a result, the reaction rate between powdered magnesium and hydrochloric acid is much faster than that of the solid magnesium ribbon.In summary, the surface area has a direct impact on the rate of reaction between magnesium and hydrochloric acid. The greater the surface area of the magnesium as in the case of powdered magnesium , the faster the reaction rate due to the increased number of collisions between the reactant particles.