Aluminium powder reacts with chlorine gas to form aluminium chloride. If 27 g of aluminium is allowed to react with 71 g of chlorine gas, the mass of aluminium chloride formed is ________ g . (Given: Atomic masses of Al = 27 amu and Cl = 35.5 amu )

Step-by-step solution

The balanced chemical equation for the reaction is: 2 Al + 3 Cl ₂ 2 AlCl ₃ First, calculate the initial number of moles of each reactant: Molar mass of Al = 27 g/mol Moles of Al = 27 27 = 1 mol Molar mass of Cl ₂ = 2 35.5 = 71 g/mol Moles of Cl ₂ = 71 71 = 1 mol Next, identify the limiting reagent by dividing the moles by the respective stoichiometric coefficients: For Al : 1 2 = 0.5 For Cl ₂: 1 3 0.33 Since 0.33 Now, calculate the moles of AlCl ₃ formed based on the limiting reagent: From the balanced equation, 3