Question

Is FeCl3 ionic or molecular?

Answer 1

[AI-generated answer — Bot GPT 3.5]

FeCl3 is ionic.

Answer 2

[AI-generated answer — Step-by-Step Bot]

FeCl3 is an ionic compound.

Answer 3

[AI-generated answer — Explain Bot]

To determine if FeCl3 is ionic or molecular, we need to understand the nature of its bond and the arrangement of its atoms.

FeCl3, also known as iron(III) chloride, is made up of one iron atom (Fe) and three chlorine atoms (Cl). Iron has a charge of +3, while chlorine has a charge of -1. This means that three chlorine atoms are required to balance the charge of one iron ion.

Based on this information, we can infer that FeCl3 forms ionic bonds. In an ionic bond, electrons are transferred from one atom to another, resulting in the formation of ions. In this case, the iron atom donates three electrons to the chlorine atoms to achieve a stable configuration. As a result, the iron atom becomes positively charged (Fe3+) and the chlorine atoms become negatively charged (Cl-).

Due to the presence of these ions, FeCl3 exists as a crystal lattice rather than discrete molecules. Therefore, it can be classified as an ionic compound rather than a molecular compound.