The reaction of zinc and chlorine requires 0.00624 mol of Zn and 0.0125 mol of Cl to react exactly to form zinc chloride. What is the mole ratio of Zn to Cl? What is the empirical formula of zinc chloride?
The ratio of Zn to chlorine is
0.005624/0.0125 = 1:2
ZnCl2 is the formula.
To determine the mole ratio of Zn to Cl, we need to compare the number of moles of each element in the reaction.
Given:
- 0.00624 mol of Zn
- 0.0125 mol of Cl
The balanced chemical equation for the reaction of zinc and chlorine is:
Zn + Cl₂ → ZnCl₂
From the equation, we can see that for every one mole of Zn, we need two moles of Cl₂ to react and form one mole of ZnCl₂.
Therefore, the mole ratio of Zn to Cl can be determined as follows:
Zn:Cl = 0.00624 mol Zn : 0.0125 mol Cl
Simplifying the ratio, we divide both sides by 0.00624 mol Zn (the smaller quantity) to get:
Zn:Cl = 1 : (0.0125 mol Cl / 0.00624 mol Zn)
Zn:Cl = 1 : 2
The mole ratio of Zn to Cl is 1:2.
To find the empirical formula of zinc chloride, we can directly use the mole ratios determined from the balanced chemical equation.
The empirical formula shows the simplest whole-number ratio of elements in a compound.
From the balanced equation:
ZnCl₂
We see that there is one Zn atom and two Cl atoms. Therefore, the empirical formula of zinc chloride is ZnCl₂.