A chemist performs the synthesis of sodium chloride from its elements. The chemist begins with 46 grams of sodium. How many moles of chlorine are needed? 2 Na + Cl2 → 2 NaCl

I didn't understand that is it asking about Cl (chlorine) or Cl2 (Chlorine GAS)...

1 Answer
anor277
Apr 16, 2016

We have #2# #mol# of sodium metal to start; clearly we need the 1 mole of #Cl_2(g)#.

Explanation:

#"Moles of sodium "=(46.0*g)/(22.9*g*mol^-1)=2*mol#.

Given your equation, clearly we need the ONE mole of #Cl_2# gas. What is the mass of this quantity of chlorine?

It is fact that all of the elemental gases EXCEPT for the Noble Gases are diatomic: #N_2, O_2, F_2, Cl_2#. Of course, all the halogens, as the elements, are diatomic, but not all are gaseous.

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