chemistry help 21-2

Question

The following chemical equation has NOT been balanced.

 

zinc nitride + chlorine --> zinc chloride + nitrogen

 

How many moles of chlorine gas are needed to react fully with 14.7 g of zinc nitride?

Answer value

Answer 1

Hi, Molly,

We must balance the equation. Zinc nitride is Zn₃N₂ and has a molar mass of 224.1 g/mole. I think this is balanced:

Zn₃N₂ + 3Cl₂ = 3ZnCl₂ + N₂

14.7 grams of zinc nitride is (14.7 g/224.1 g/mole) = 0.0656 moles Zn₃N₂

The equation says it really, really wants 3 moles of chlorine for every 1 mole of Zn₃N₂ . Greedy, but it's telling us we need 0.197 moles of Cl₂, and that's fine by me. That gas is bad news, so making salts from it is a wonderful idea.

Bob