Question

How many ions (i) would be produced when the Li3PO4 molecule is dissolved in a
solvent?​

Answer 1

4

Step-by-step explanation:

`Li_3PO_4` is an ionic crystal rather than a molecule. An ionic crystal dissolved in water dissociates into its cations and anions.

Lithium phosphate consists of two ions. Firstly, the metallic component, lithium, is a positively charged ion in this salt, also known as a cation.

The remaining part, phosphate, is an anion. When lithium phosphate is dissolved in water, the following process takes place:

`Li_3PO_4 (aq)\rightarrow 3 Li^+ (aq) + PO_4^(3-) (aq)`

Notice that for 1 formula unit of lithium phosphate, a total of 3 units of lithium cations and 1 unit of phosphate anions are produced.