A sample of green copper(II) carbonate is strongly heated in a crucible to decompose it into black copper(II) oxide and carbon dioxide gas:
CuCO3(s)→CuO(s)+CO2(g) \text{CuCO}_3(\text{s}) \rightarrow \text{CuO}(\text{s}) + \text{CO}_2(\text{g}) CuCO3(s)→CuO(s)+CO2(g)The mass of copper(II) oxide solid remaining in the crucible is found to be 3.25 g, which is less than the calculated theoretical mass.
Which of the following is a likely reason for this lower actual mass?
Some of the solid was lost as dust or spat out of the crucible during heating.
The thermal decomposition of the copper(II) carbonate was incomplete.
The remaining copper(II) oxide absorbed water vapor from the air before weighing.
Carbon dioxide gas remained trapped inside the crucible.
258 exam-style questions on Edexcel GCSE Chemistry Calculations involving masses. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.