When iron is heated in a steam of dry chlorine, it produce a chloride which contains 34.5 % by mass of iron which contains 65.5 % calculate the empirical formula of this chloride
If the compound is FexCly
Then
57x/(57x+35.5y) = 0.345
35.5y/(57x+35.5y) = 0.655
I get y = 3x
That is, FeCl3
To calculate the empirical formula of the chloride, we need to determine the ratio of the elements present in the compound.
1. Start with the given percentage composition of iron (Fe) and chlorine (Cl):
- Iron (Fe): 34.5%
- Chlorine (Cl): 65.5%
2. Convert the percentages to grams:
- Iron (Fe): 34.5% = 34.5g
- Chlorine (Cl): 65.5% = 65.5g
3. Convert grams to moles for each element using their respective molar masses:
- Iron (Fe): Molar mass = 55.85 g/mol
Moles of Fe = 34.5g / 55.85 g/mol ≈ 0.617 mol
- Chlorine (Cl): Molar mass = 35.45 g/mol
Moles of Cl = 65.5g / 35.45 g/mol ≈ 1.847 mol
4. Divide the moles of each element by the smallest number of moles to get the simplest whole-number ratio. In this case, iron has the fewest moles (0.617 mol).
- Moles of Fe: 0.617 mol / 0.617 mol = 1
- Moles of Cl: 1.847 mol / 0.617 mol ≈ 3
The empirical formula of the chloride is FeCl3.
To determine the empirical formula of the chloride produced when iron is heated in a stream of dry chlorine, we need to follow a step-by-step process.
Step 1: Determine the percentage mass of each element in the compound.
Given that the compound contains 34.5% by mass of iron (Fe) and 65.5% by mass of chlorine (Cl), we can assign these values accordingly.
Step 2: Convert the percentage mass to grams.
Let's assume we have 100 grams of the compound.
The mass of iron (Fe) present is 34.5 grams (34.5% of 100 grams).
The mass of chlorine (Cl) present is 65.5 grams (65.5% of 100 grams).
Step 3: Calculate the number of moles of each element.
Using the molar mass of each element, we can calculate the number of moles.
The molar mass of iron (Fe) is approximately 55.85 g/mol.
The molar mass of chlorine (Cl) is approximately 35.45 g/mol.
Number of moles of iron (Fe) = mass of iron (Fe) / molar mass of iron (Fe)
Number of moles of iron (Fe) = 34.5 g / 55.85 g/mol
Number of moles of chlorine (Cl) = mass of chlorine (Cl) / molar mass of chlorine (Cl)
Number of moles of chlorine (Cl) = 65.5 g / 35.45 g/mol
Step 4: Determine the mole ratio between the elements.
To find the empirical formula, we need to determine the simplest whole-number ratio between the two elements.
Divide the number of moles of each element by the smallest number of moles calculated above.
Number of moles of iron (Fe) / smallest number of moles
Number of moles of chlorine (Cl) / smallest number of moles
In this case, the smallest number of moles is the number of moles of chlorine (Cl).
Number of moles of iron (Fe) / number of moles of chlorine (Cl) = (34.5 g / 55.85 g/mol) / (65.5 g / 35.45 g/mol)
Simplify the mole ratio to obtain the simplest whole-number ratio.
Step 5: Write the empirical formula.
The empirical formula represents the simplest whole-number ratio of the elements in the compound.
The empirical formula of the chloride produced when iron is heated in a stream of dry chlorine can be determined using the mole ratio calculated in step 4.