Question

What is the formula for manganese iV bicarbonate?

Answer 1

`"Mn(HCO"_3)_4`

Explanation:

Manganese (IV) bicarbonate is an ionic compound, composed of two ions, Manganese (IV), and bicarbonate, also called hydrogen carbonate.

Ionic compounds are neutral, meaning that the total positive charge and total negative charge are equal.

The name manganese (IV) tells us that the manganese ion has a charge of `4+`. The formula for manganese (IV) is `"Mn"^(4+)"`, and bicarbonate has the formula `"HCO"_3"^(-)` Since the bicarbonate ion has a `1-` charge, and the manganese ion has a `4+` charge, four bicarbonate ions will be needed to form a neutral compound.

`"Mn"^(4+)` `+` `"4HCO"_3"^(-)` `rarr` `"Mn(HCO"_3)_4`

Another way to determine the formula of an ionic compound is by crisscrossing. The size of the charge on the positive ion becomes the subscript on the negative ion, and the size of the charge on the negative ion becomes the subscript of the positive ion.

The examples below show how the process works.