Final answer:
To find the coulombs used to produce 6.08 g of tin through electrolysis, convert the mass of tin to moles, determine the moles of electrons needed, then use Faraday's constant to calculate the charge in coulombs, revealing that 9882 coulombs were used.
Step-by-step explanation:
To calculate the coulombs of electricity used to produce 6.08 g of metallic tin (Sn) from molten tin(II) sulfate (SnSO4), we need to apply the principles of electrolysis and stoichiometry. Tin has a charge of +2 in SnSO4, therefore, each tin ion requires two electrons to be reduced to metallic tin: Sn2+ + 2e- → Sn(s). Since we have 6.08 g of tin, we first convert this mass to moles using the molar mass of tin (118.71 g/mol).
6.08 g Sn * (1 mol Sn/118.71 g Sn) = 0.0512 mol Sn
Knowing that each mole of Sn requires two moles of electrons to be reduced, we need 0.1024 mol of electrons. Now, to find the number of coulombs, we use the Faraday's constant (96,485 C/mol e-), which is the charge carried by one mole of electrons, expressed in coulombs. Thus, the total charge can be calculated as follows:
0.1024 mol e- * 96,485 C/mol e- = 9882 C
Therefore, 9882 coulombs of electricity were used to produce 6.08 g of metallic tin through the electrolysis of molten SnSO4.