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Chemistry Question 73 – JEE-MAIN 2025

Consider the following reactions A+NaCl+H2SO4→CrO2Cl2+Side Products Little amount CrO2Cl2 (Vapour)+NaOH→B+NaCl+H2O B+H+→C+H2O The number of terminal 'O' present in the compound 'C' is _______.

The first reaction is the chromyl chloride test, which helps identify the initial chromium compound.

Step 1: Identify compounds A, B, and C✦ Active

The first reaction, A+NaCl+H2SO4→CrO2Cl2+Side Products, is the chromyl chloride test. This test indicates that A is a chromate or dichromate salt (e.g., K2Cr2O7). Chromyl chloride (CrO2Cl2) is a reddish-brown vapour.

Chromyl chloride reacts with a strong base like NaOH to form a chromate. The balanced reaction is:

CrO2Cl2+4NaOH→Na2CrO4+2NaCl+2H2O

Therefore, compound B is Na2CrO4 (sodium chromate).

When chromate ions (CrO42−) are acidified (H+), they convert to dichromate ions (Cr2O72−). The reaction is:

2Na2CrO4+2H+→Na2Cr2O7+H2O+2Na+

Therefore, compound C is Na2Cr2O7 (sodium dichromate).

Step 2: Determine the structure of compound C and count terminal oxygen atoms○ Expand

Compound C is sodium dichromate, Na2Cr2O7. We need to find the number of terminal oxygen atoms in the dichromate ion, Cr2O72−.

The dichromate ion consists of two CrO4 tetrahedra sharing one oxygen atom. The structure can be represented as O3Cr−O−CrO3. Each chromium atom is in a +6 oxidation state and is tetrahedrally coordinated.

In this structure, one oxygen atom acts as a bridge between the two chromium atoms (Cr−O−Cr). The remaining six oxygen atoms are bonded to only one chromium atom. These are the terminal oxygen atoms.

💡 Teacher's Secret Hint

Remember the bridging oxygen in dichromate.

Step 3: Final Answer○ Expand

The number of terminal oxygen atoms in the dichromate ion (Cr2O72−) is 6.

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