Question

enter the formula for the compound that forms from calcium and phosphate. express your answer as a chemical formula. a chemical reaction does not occur for this question.

Explanation:

Step1: Determine the charges

Calcium (\(Ca\)) is in group 2 of the periodic table, so it forms \(Ca^{2 +}\) ions. Phosphate (\(PO_{4}\)) is a polyatomic ion with a charge of \(PO_{4}^{3-}\).

Step2: Use the criss - cross method

To form a neutral compound, we need to balance the charges. The least common multiple of 2 and 3 is 6. So we need 3 \(Ca^{2+}\) ions (\(3\times2 = 6\)) and 2 \(PO_{4}^{3 -}\) ions (\(2\times3=6\)).

Answer:

\(Ca_{3}(PO_{4})_{2}\)