Final answer:
The mass of vanadium that combines with 100g of chlorine was calculated for compounds with 65.6% and 55.95% chlorine, resulting in a ratio that did not initially support the Law of Multiple Proportions. Upon considering the stoichiometric formulas of the compounds, the mass ratios correspond to the whole number ratios of chlorine atoms in the vanadium chlorides, thus supporting the law.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Law of Multiple Proportions
The Law of Multiple Proportions states that if two elements form more than one compound between them, then the ratios of the masses of the second element which combine with a fixed mass of the first element are always ratios of small whole numbers.
For vanadium chlorides with 65.6% and 55.95% chlorine, we calculate the mass of vanadium that combines with 100g of chlorine:
- For the compound with 65.6% Cl: 100g / (65.6/34.4) = 52.918g V
- For the compound with 55.95% Cl: 100g / (55.95/44.05) = 78.643g V
If we divide the larger mass by the smaller mass, we get:
(78.643g V) / (52.918g V) ≈ 1.485
This ratio, 1.485, is not a small whole number, and initially, seems not to support the law of multiple proportions. However, if we consider the law regarding the stoichiometry of the vanadium and chlorine in their compounds, we would see that these compounds likely have different numbers of atoms of each element. For example, the first compound might have one vanadium atom for every two chlorine atoms (VCl2), while the second might have one vanadium atom for every three chlorine atoms (VCl3).
Taking the structural formula into account, the mass ratios then become representative of the ratio between the number of chlorine atoms in the two compounds, which should be simple whole numbers, thus supporting the law of multiple proportions.