The molecular weight of Radium chloride (RaCl2) is 296.9054.
To calculate molecular weight of any compound, the first step is to know the constituent elements (atoms) and their number in that particular compound. Then calculate the total atomic weight of each element by multiplying its atomic weight by its number. The sum of total atomic weight of all constituent elements will be the molecular weight of the compound. Note that the value of atomic weight may differ from different sources.
CALCULATION PROCEDURE
Step 1: Find out the chemical formula and determine constituent atoms and their number in a Radium chloride molecule.
From the chemical formula, you will know different atoms and their number in a Radium chloride molecule. Chemical formula of Radium chloride is RaCl2. From the chemical formula of Radium chloride, it is easy to find out that there are one Radium (Ra) atom and two Chlorine (Cl) atoms in a molecule of Radium chloride.
Step 2: Find out atomic weights of each atom (from periodic table).
Atomic weight of Radium (Ra): 226 (Ref: Pubchem-38, Ciaaw-Radium)
Atomic weight of chlorine (Cl) : 35.4527 (Ref: Pubchem-Chlorine, jlab-ele017)
Step 3: Calculate the molecular weight of Radium chloride by adding the total weight of all atoms.
Number of Radium atoms in Radium chloride: 1
Atomic weight of Radium: 226
Total weight of Radium atoms in Radium chloride: 226 x 1 = 226
Number of Chlorine atoms in Radium chloride: 2
Atomic weight of Chlorine: 35.4527
Total weight of Chlorine atoms in Radium chloride: 35.4527 x 2 = 70.9054
Step 4: Calculate the molecular weight of Radium chloride by adding up the total weight of all atoms.
Molecular weight of Radium chloride (RaCl2): 226 (Radium) + 70.9054 (Chlorine)
So the molecular weight of Radium chloride is 296.9054.
| Molecular weight of Radium chloride (RaCl2) | |||
| Atoms (elements) in Radium chloride | Number of each atom in Radium chloride | Atomic weight | Total weight |
| Ra (Radium) | 1 | 226 | 226 (226 x 1) |
| Cl (Chlorine) | 2 | 35.4527 | 70.9054 (35.4527 x 2) |
| Molecular weight of Radium chloride (RaCl2): | 296.9054 | ||
REFERENCES:
- Pubchem-38: https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/element/38
- Ciaaw-Radium : https://www.ciaaw.org/Radium.htm
- Jlab-ele038: https://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele038.html
- Pubchem-Chlorine: https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/element/Chlorine
- jlab-ele017: https://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele017.html
