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Chapter 3: Problem 117

A certain metal M forms a bromide containing 53.79 percent Br by mass. What is the chemical formula of the compound?

Short Answer

Expert verified
The chemical formula for the substance can be represented as \( MBr_x \) where x equals the molar mass of the metal M divided by the number of moles of bromine (0.6732). Nevertheless, the specific formula requires knowledge of the atomic mass of the unidentified metal M.

Step by step solution

01

Determine the Mass of Each Element

Since the percentage composition of the compound is given, let's assume we have 100g of the compound. This means we have 53.79g of Br and 46.21g of M.
02

Find Moles of Each Element

Next, calculate the moles for each element. The number of moles is given by mass (g) divided by molar mass (g/mol). For Br, it is \( \frac{53.79g}{79.904g/mol} = 0.6732 mol \). For M the atomic mass is unknown, thus the number of moles is \( \frac{46.21g}{M's molar mass} \) subject to the value of M's atomic mass.
03

Establish Chemical Formula

For the final step, the chemical formula is obtained by establishing the ratio of M to Br in the compound. This is usually simplified to the smallest whole number ratio. However, in this scenario the ratio is dependent on unknown atom M's molar mass. Our ratio ends up as \( M : Br = 0.6732 mol : M's molar mass \). This presents us with an equation that can be solved for M's molar mass.

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