Answer:
Mg₃N₂
Explanation:
The reaction of Mg + N₂ produces:
Mg + N₂ → MgₓNₙ
0.55g of Mg are:
0.55g ₓ (1 mol / 24.305g) = 0.0226 moles of Mg
Now, as the product has 0.76g of mass, mass of nitrogen is:
0.76g - 0.55g = 0.21g of N. In moles:
0.21g ₓ (1 mol / 14g) = 0.015 moles of N
The ratio in moles of N:Mg is:
0.0226 / 0.015 = 1.5. That means you have 1.5 atoms of Mg per atom of N. As empirical formula is the simplest whole-number ratio of atoms in a compound, empirical formula in the problem is:
Mg₃N₂
