Question

Find the molecular formula of a compound that contains 42.56 g of palladium and 0.80 g of hydrogen. The molar mass of the compound is 216.8 g/mol.

Answer 1

Answer:

The answer to your question is Pd₂H₄

Explanation:

Data

mass of palladium = 42.56 g

mass of hydrogen = 0.8 g

Process

1.- Convert the grams of each substance to moles

                   106 g of Pd ----------------- 1 mol

                    42.56 g of Pd -------------  x

                      x = (42.56 x 1)/106

                      x = 0.402 moles

                      1 g of H --------------------- 1 mol

                     0.8 g of H ------------------ x

                     x = (0.8 x 1)/1

                     x = 0.8 moles

2.- Divide by the lowest number of moles

Palladium = 0.402/0.402 = 1

Hydrogen = 0.8/0.402 = 1.99 ≈ 2              

3.- Write the empirical formula

                                 PdH₂

4.- Calculate the mass of the empirical formula

PdH₂ = 106 + 2 = 108

5.- Divide the molar mass by the molar mass of the empirical formula

                     216.8/108 = 2

6.- Get the molecular formula

                 2(PdH₂) = Pd₂H₄