Question

1.883 grams of copper reacted with excess sulfur to form an unknown Copper sulfide. The reaction creates 2.308 grams of an unknown Copper Sulfide. What I am trying to find is the empirical formula of the Copper Sulfide. It is either Copper(I) Sulfide or Copper(II) sulfide. I don't need the answer but rather an explanation of how to solve this problem. a) To find the empirical formula, you need to determine the moles of copper and sulfur. b) To find the empirical formula, you should use the molar masses of copper and sulfur. c) To find the empirical formula, you have to know the exact reaction mechanism. d) To find the empirical formula, you need to analyze the color of the resulting compound.

Answer 1

To find the empirical formula, you should use the molar masses of copper and sulfur. Thus the correct option is (b).

Step-by-step explanation:

In this scenario, option b is the correct approach to determine the empirical formula of the Copper Sulfide. To find the empirical formula, we need to calculate the moles of both copper and sulfur using the given masses and then determine the mole ratio between them. This process involves using the molar masses of copper and sulfur, which can be found on the periodic table.Thus the correct option is (b).

To elaborate, start by converting the given masses of copper and sulfur into moles using their respective molar masses. The molar mass of copper (Cu) is approximately 63.55 g/mol, and for sulfur (S), it is around 32.07 g/mol. Calculate the moles of copper and sulfur in the reaction, and then find the simplest whole number ratio between them. This ratio represents the subscripts in the empirical formula.

Understanding the molar masses is crucial as it allows us to relate mass to moles, facilitating the determination of the empirical formula. In contrast, options a, c, and d are not accurate for this situation. Option a mentions finding moles, which is correct, but it's essential to use molar masses to make these calculations. Options c and d introduce unnecessary elements like the reaction mechanism or the color of the compound, which are not relevant to determining the empirical formula in this context.