How do you determine the formula weight of #"Na"_2"CO"_3"# and #"Ca"_3("PO"_4)_2"#?

1 Answer
Jun 30, 2017

See the explanation.

Explanation:

To determine the formula weight of a substance, multiply each element's subscript by its atomic weight on the periodic table, then add the result. Reminder: no subscript is understood to be #1#.

Formula weight of #"Na"_2"CO"_3":#

#(2xx22.990 "u Na")+(1xx12.011 "u C")+(3xx15.999 "u O")="105.998 u Na"_2"CO"_3",#

where #"u"# is the symbol for unified mass unit.

Formula weight of #"Ca"_3"(PO"_4)"_2:#

#(3xx40.078 "u Ca")+(2xx30.974 "u P")+(8xx15.999 "u O")="310.174 u Ca"_3"(PO"_4)"_2#

If you need molar masses, replace #"u"# with grams/mole, or g/mol.