Final answer:
The molecular weight of hydrochloric acid (HCl) is 36.46 g/mol. This value is critical for performing conversions between mass and moles in chemical calculations and understanding the composition of the acid.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student has presented a question about identifying the molecular weight of hydrochloric acid (HCl). The correct molecular weight of HCl, which is a combination of one atom of hydrogen and one atom of chlorine, is given as 36.46 g/mol. This value is essential for various chemical calculations, such as converting between moles and grams of a substance, determining the concentration of solutions, and understanding the percentage composition of the compound.
For instance, when you have a mass of HCl and need to find out the number of moles, you can use the molar mass of HCl as a conversion factor. So, if you had 20.22 g of HCl and wanted to convert it to moles, you would divide by the molar mass:
20.22 g HCl × (1 mol HCl / 36.46 g HCl) = 0.554 moles of HCl
This process shows the practical application of the molecular weight in real-world scenarios, such as preparing a solution of hydrochloric acid with a specific molarity.