Ilmenite,an ore used in the production of metallic titanium,is composed of 36.8% iron,31.6% titanium,and 31.6% oxygen.What is the empirical (simplest)formula for ilmenite?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

To find the empirical formula, we need to determine the relative number of atoms of each element in a single molecule of ilmenite. We can assume a 100 gram sample of ilmenite, which would give us 36.8 grams of iron, 31.6 grams of titanium, and 31.6 grams of oxygen. Next, we need to convert these masses to moles by dividing by the respective atomic masses, which gives us 0.659 moles of iron, 0.196 moles of titanium, and 1.975 moles of oxygen. We can then divide each of these mole values by the smallest of the three, which is 0.196, to get a ratio of 3.36:1:10.06, which we can round to 3:1:10. The empirical formula can then be written as FeTiO3, which corresponds to choice C.

Ilmenite,an Ore Used in the Production of Metallic Titanium,is Composed