To determine which of the listed substances is made up of the most atoms, we must examine the chemical formulas and count the total number of atoms in each formula.
Here are the substances with their respective chemical formulas:
1. Carbonic acid: [tex]\(H_2CO_3\)[/tex]
2. Nitric acid: [tex]\(H_3O_3\)[/tex]
3. Phosphoric acid: [tex]\(H_3PO_2\)[/tex]
4. Sulfuric acid: [tex]\(H_2SO\)[/tex]
We'll count the number of atoms in each formula:
1. Carbonic acid [tex]\((H_2CO_3)\)[/tex]:
- Hydrogen (H): 2 atoms
- Carbon (C): 1 atom
- Oxygen (O): 3 atoms
- Total: [tex]\(2 + 1 + 3 = 6\)[/tex] atoms
2. Nitric acid [tex]\((H_3O_3)\)[/tex]:
- Hydrogen (H): 3 atoms
- Oxygen (O): 3 atoms
- Total: [tex]\(3 + 3 = 6\)[/tex] atoms
3. Phosphoric acid [tex]\((H_3PO_2)\)[/tex]:
- Hydrogen (H): 3 atoms
- Phosphorus (P): 1 atom
- Oxygen (O): 2 atoms
- Total: [tex]\(3 + 1 + 2 = 6\)[/tex] atoms
4. Sulfuric acid [tex]\((H_2SO)\)[/tex]:
- Hydrogen (H): 2 atoms
- Sulfur (S): 1 atom
- Oxygen (O): 1 atom
- Total: [tex]\(2 + 1 + 1 = 4\)[/tex] atoms
Now that we've counted the number of atoms for each substance, we can compare the totals:
- Carbonic acid: 6 atoms
- Nitric acid: 6 atoms
- Phosphoric acid: 6 atoms
- Sulfuric acid: 4 atoms
Nitric acid ([tex]\(H_3O_3\)[/tex]) has the highest number of atoms among the listed substances.
Therefore, the substance made up of the most atoms is:
B. Nitric acid
