500
11.2 g of metal carbonate, containing an unknown metal,
M, were heated to give the metal oxide and 4.4 g CO2.
MCO3(s) + heat → MO(s) + CO2(g)
What is the identity of the metal M?
a. Mg
b. Pb
c. Ca
d. Ba
e. Cr
E
This problem requires a bit more clever thought and understanding. Work the problem “backwards” starting with the information that the carbon dioxide product tells you. Since 44g CO2 x (1 mol/44g CO2)=0.1 mol CO2, the balanced equation tells us
that 0.1 mol of CO2 must come from 0.1 mole of MCO3. Further, we know that 0.1 mole of MCO3 contains 0.1 mole of M
and also 0.1 mole of CO3. Since CO3 has a mass of 60 g/mol, we can calculate that the 0.1 mole of the CO3 has a mass of 6 g and the remainder of the compound (whose mass we were told was 11.2 g), the M part, must weigh 5.2 g. But remember there is 0.1 mole of M in this compound, thus (5.2g/0.1mol)=(52g/1mol) and so you are looking for an element that has a molar mass of 52, which is Cr.