when iron is heated in a steam of dry chlorine, it produces a chloride that contains 34.5% by mass iron. calculate the empirical formula of this chloride.

assume 100 grams of iron chlride.

then 34.5 grams of Fe, figure the moles of that.
Then 65.5 grams of Cl, figure the moles of that.

Now look at the two numbers. Divide the larger by the smaller: that is the mole ratio between the elements. Empirical ratios reflect the formula.

To determine the empirical formula of the chloride formed when iron is heated in a stream of dry chlorine, we need to find the ratio of the elements present in the compound.

Step 1: Find the mass of iron in the compound.
Since the compound contains 34.5% iron by mass, we can assume we have 100 grams of this compound to make calculations easier. Therefore, we have 34.5 grams of iron in the compound.

Step 2: Find the mass of chlorine in the compound.
Since the compound is formed by combining iron and chlorine, the remaining mass must be chlorine. That would be 100 grams - 34.5 grams = 65.5 grams.

Step 3: Convert the masses to moles.
To convert the masses to moles, we need to know the molar mass of each element:
- The molar mass of iron (Fe) is approximately 55.85 g/mol.
- The molar mass of chlorine (Cl) is approximately 35.45 g/mol.

Now we can calculate the number of moles for each element:
- Moles of iron (Fe) = 34.5 g / 55.85 g/mol ≈ 0.617 mol
- Moles of chlorine (Cl) = 65.5 g / 35.45 g/mol ≈ 1.847 mol

Step 4: Find the simplest whole-number mole ratios.
To find the empirical formula, we need to find the simplest whole-number mole ratio between iron and chlorine. Divide each number of moles by the smaller number of moles to obtain the ratio:
- Iron (Fe) = 0.617 mol / 0.617 mol ≈ 1
- Chlorine (Cl) = 1.847 mol / 0.617 mol ≈ 3

Therefore, the empirical formula of the chloride is FeCl₃.

To find the empirical formula of the chloride produced, we need to calculate the ratio of atoms in the compound.

First, let's assume we have 100 grams of the chloride produced. This means that 34.5 grams of this compound is iron.

Next, we need to find the mass of chlorine in the compound. Since we assumed 100 grams of the compound, and 34.5 grams are iron, the remaining mass is due to chlorine:

Mass of chlorine = Total mass - Mass of iron = 100 g - 34.5 g = 65.5 g

Now, we can calculate the number of moles for each element. To do this, we need the molar masses of iron (Fe) and chlorine (Cl):

Molar mass of iron (Fe) = 55.85 g/mol
Molar mass of chlorine (Cl) = 35.45 g/mol

Next, we find the number of moles for each element:

Number of moles of iron = Mass of iron / Molar mass of iron = 34.5 g / 55.85 g/mol = 0.617 mol
Number of moles of chlorine = Mass of chlorine / Molar mass of chlorine = 65.5 g / 35.45 g/mol = 1.85 mol

Now, we need to find the simplest whole-number ratio of the elements. To do this, we divide the number of moles of each element by the smallest number of moles. In this case, the smallest number of moles is 0.617.

Dividing by 0.617, we get:

Number of moles of iron = 0.617 mol / 0.617 mol = 1 mol (approx.)
Number of moles of chlorine = 1.85 mol / 0.617 mol = 3 mol (approx.)

The empirical formula is determined based on this ratio of atoms. Thus, the empirical formula of the chloride produced is FeCl3, which indicates that there are one iron atom and three chlorine atoms in the compound.

Am satisfied with the answers,