Write the chemical formula for mercury(I) iodate
The chemical formula for mercury(I) iodate is HgIO3.
To determine the chemical formula for mercury(I) iodate, we need to understand the oxidation states of the elements involved.
Mercury is a transition metal and can exhibit different oxidation states. In this case, we are dealing with mercury in the +1 oxidation state, whereas iodine is in the -1 oxidation state as a typical halogen. The "ate" suffix in the compound name indicates that iodine is an anion in this case.
Given that mercury has a +1 charge and iodine has a -1 charge, we can deduce that to achieve a neutral compound, we need one mercury cation and one iodate anion. The iodate anion, IO3-, consists of one iodine atom bonded to three oxygen atoms.
Now we can combine the two ions to form mercury(I) iodate. Since the charge of the mercury cation is +1 and the iodate anion has a -1 charge, we need one mercury cation and one iodate anion to balance the charges. Therefore, the chemical formula for mercury(I) iodate is HgIO3.
Hg2(IO3)2 or
Hg2I2O6