This question is about the industrial extraction of transition metals.
A high-purity transition metal, X\text{X}X, is manufactured by the reduction of its anhydrous chloride with sodium metal at high temperatures in an inert argon atmosphere.
The balanced chemical equation for this extraction process is:
XCl3+3Na→X+3NaCl \text{XCl}_3 + 3\text{Na} \rightarrow \text{X} + 3\text{NaCl} XCl3+3Na→X+3NaClThe total sum of the relative formula masses (MrM_rMr) of the reactants in this balanced equation (XCl3+3Na\text{XCl}_3 + 3\text{Na}XCl3+3Na) is 227.5227.5227.5.
Calculate the relative atomic mass (ArA_rAr) of the metal X\text{X}X.
Relative atomic masses (ArA_rAr): Na=23.0\text{Na} = 23.0Na=23.0, Cl=35.5\text{Cl} = 35.5Cl=35.5.
Identify the transition metal X\text{X}X using the periodic table.
53 exam-style questions on AQA GCSE Chemistry 3.1 Chemical measurements, conservation of mass and the quantitative interpretation of chemical equations, covering 3.1.1 Conservation of mass and balanced chemical equations, 3.1.2 Relative formula mass, 3.1.3 Mass changes when a reactant or product is a gas, and 3.1.4 Chemical measurements. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.