If you had equal masses of the substances in the following...

If you had equal masses of the substances in the following pairs of compounds, which of the two would contain the greater number of ions? (a) NaBr or $\mathrm{KCl} ;$ (b) $\mathrm{NaCl}$ or $\mathrm{MgCl}_{2} ;$ (c) $\mathrm{BaCl}_{2}$ or $\mathrm{Li}_{2} \mathrm{CO}_{3}$.

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Key Concepts

Stoichiometric Relationships

Stoichiometry involves the quantitative relationships between reactants and products in a chemical reaction, including the relationship between mass and number of particles. In the context of ionic compounds, it provides the framework for converting between the mass of the substance, the number of moles (using the molar mass), and ultimately the number of ions produced by considering the ion-per-formula unit ratio.

Molar Mass

Molar mass is the mass of one mole of a substance and directly determines how many moles are present in a given mass. When comparing equal masses of different compounds, the compound with a lower molar mass will contain more moles, which is essential for comparing the total number of formula units and therefore the total number of ions produced upon dissociation.

Formula Unit and Ion Count

The formula unit of an ionic compound specifies the ratio of ions present in the compound. Each formula unit dissociates into a fixed number of ions; for instance, a compound that releases more ions per formula unit will yield a higher total ion count if the number of formula units is the same. This concept is key when determining the overall ion count from a given mass of an ionic compound.

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