Question

After a reaction, a new compound contains 0.73 g Mg and 0.28 g N. What is the empirical formula of this compound?

Answer 1

Answer:

Mg₃N₂

Explanation:

The empirical formula of a chemical compound is defined as the simplest positive integer ratio of atoms present in a compound. Using molecular mass of Mg (24,305g/mol) and mass of nitrogen (14,006g/mol), moles of each element are:

0,73g × (1mol / 24,305g) = 0,03 moles of Mg

0,28g × (1mol / 14,006g) = 0,02 moles of N

Dividing each value in 0,01 to obtain natural numbers:

0,03 moles of Mg / 0,01 = 3

0,02 moles of N / 0,01 = 2.

Thus, empirical formula is: Mg₃N₂

I hope it helps!