If 10.0 grams of aluminum chloride are decomposed, aluminum and chlorine gas are produced. How many grams of aluminum come out of this reaction

Answer 1

Hi Caprice,

Happy to help you with this! To start, write a balanced equation for the decomposition of aluminum chloride based on the information given. Aluminum chloride has the formula AlCl₃ and this decomposes into aluminum metal and chlorine gas (one of the diatomic molecules!). So:

2AlCl₃ (s) --> 2Al (s) + 3Cl₂ (g)

Make sure to balance the equation before moving on!

Now, you can use the coefficients of this equation and your knowledge of stoichiometry to finish the question. We're given a value in grams of AlCl₃, and asked to determine the number of grams of aluminum that result. So, to get there:

g AlCl₃ --> mol AlCl₃ --> mol Al --> g Al

Remember you must convert to moles first before converting to moles of another substance. You can think of moles as your "passport" to another substance in a balance reaction.

The conversion factors that you need to perform this calculation:

1. Molar masses of AlCl₃ and Al. These can be calculated using the periodic table.
2. Molar coefficients from the balanced reaction.

Now, using conversion factors to go through this process:

10.0 g AlCl₃ * (1 mol AlCl₃/133.34g) * (2 mol Al/2 mol AlCl₃) * (26.98 g/1 mol Al) = 2.02g Al produced

Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any follow-up questions.

Best,

Chris