Question

Mercury can be obtained by reacting mercury(II) sulfide with calcium oxide. How many grams of calcium oxide are needed to produce 36.0 g of Hg?

4 HgS(s) + 4 CaO(s) → 4 Hg(l) + 3 CaS(s) + CaSO4

Answer 1

To produce 36.0 g of Hg, 56.08 g of CaO are needed.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the amount of calcium oxide needed to produce 36.0 g of mercury (Hg), we need to use stoichiometry. The balanced equation for the reaction is:

4 HgS(s) + 4 CaO(s) → 4 Hg(l) + 3 CaS(s) + CaSO4(s)

From the equation, we can see that 4 moles of CaO react with 4 moles of HgS to produce 4 moles of Hg. Therefore, the moles of CaO needed can be calculated as follows:

(36.0 g Hg) x (1 mol Hg/200.59 g Hg) x (4 mol CaO/4 mol Hg) x (56.08 g CaO/1 mol CaO) = 56.08 g CaO

So, 56.08 grams of calcium oxide are needed to produce 36.0 grams of mercury.