A compound has a formula mass of 61.98 amu and is comprised of atoms of sodium and oxygen in a definite ratio.The name of the compound described here is:

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The formula mass of the compound, which is 61.98 amu, indicates that it is composed of a sodium atom (with a mass of approximately 23 amu) and an oxygen atom (with a mass of approximately 16 amu) in a specific ratio. To determine the ratio, we can subtract the mass of one sodium atom from the formula mass, which gives us 38.98 amu. This matches the mass of one oxygen atom plus a small fraction of an oxygen atom. Therefore, the compound must consist of one sodium atom and one oxygen atom, which is commonly known as sodium oxide (choice C).

A Compound Has a Formula Mass of 61