Question

Phosphorus pentachloride gas is formed by the reaction of solid phosphorus and chlorine gas . write a balanced chemical equation for this reaction.

Answer 1

Answer: The balanced chemical reaction is given as:

`P_4(s)+10Cl_2\rightarrow 4PCl_5(g)`

Step-by-step explanation:

The equation for the reaction of phosphorous and chlorine gas is given by:

`P_4(s)+10Cl_2\rightarrow 4PCl_5(g)`

By stoichiometry of the reaction:

2 moles of phosphorous reacts with 5 moles of chlorine gas gives 2 moles of phosphorus pentachloride gas as a product.

Answer 2

Chlorine gas has the the chemical formula Cl2
Solid phosphorus has the chemical formula P4
Phosphorous pentachloride has the chemical formula PCl5

Now the UNBALANCED reaction will be as follows:
P4 + Cl2 ...........> PCl5

We need to balance the equation:
1- We have 4 solid phosphorous atoms as reactants, therefore, the product should have 4 phosphorus atoms as well.
P4 + Cl2 ..............> 4PCl5
2- Now, we have 20 chlorine atoms in the products while only 2 atoms of chlorine as reactants. Therefore, we need to multiply Cl2 by 10 to balance the equation as follows:
P4 + 10Cl2 ...........> 4PCl5

The final balanced equation is as follows:
P4 + 10Cl2 ...........> 4PCl5