Question

After substantial heating, 6.25 g of iron produced 18.00 g of a compound with chlorine. The empirical formula is:

Answer 1

Answer:

Option A. FeCl3

Explanation:

The following data were obtained from the question:

Mass of iron (Fe) = 6.25g

Mass of the compound formed = 18g

From the question, we were told that the compound formed contains chlorine. Therefore the mass of chlorine is obtained as follow

Mass of chlorine (Cl) = Mass of compound formed – Mass of iron.

Mass of chlorine (Cl) = 18 – 6.25

Mass of chlorine (Cl) = 11.75g

The compound therefore contains:

Iron (Fe) = 6.25g

Chlorine (Cl) = 11.75g

The empirical formula for the compound can be obtained by doing the following:

Step 1:

Divide by their molar mass

Fe = 6.25/56 = 0.112

Cl = 11.75/35.5 = 0.331

Step 2:

Divide by the smallest

Fe = 0.112/0.112 = 1

Cl = 0.331/0.112 = 3

The empirical formula for the compound is FeCl3