A quantity of electricity liberates 3.6g of Silver from its salt. What mass of aluminium Will be liberated from its salt by the same quantity of electricity...

A quantity of electricity liberates 3.6g of Silver from its salt. What mass of aluminium Will be liberated from its salt by the same quantity of electricity? [Al = 27, Ag = 108].

Answer Details

The amount of substance liberated at an electrode during electrolysis is directly proportional to the quantity of electricity passed through the solution. This is known as Faraday's laws of electrolysis. The key to solving this problem is to recognize that the same quantity of electricity is used to liberate both silver and aluminum from their respective salts. We can use the ratio of their molar masses to determine the mass of aluminum liberated. The molar mass of silver (Ag) is 108 g/mol, while the molar mass of aluminum (Al) is 27 g/mol. This means that it takes four times as many moles of aluminum to make the same mass as one mole of silver. Since the same quantity of electricity liberates 3.6g of silver from its salt, it will liberate four times as many moles of aluminum. Therefore, the mass of aluminum liberated is: (4 moles of Al) x (27 g/mol) = 108 g So, the mass of aluminum liberated is 0.108 g, or 0.1 g to one significant figure. Therefore, the answer is option D: 0.3g.