The phosphate of a metal has the formula `MHPO_(4)`. The formula of its chloride would be :

Options

A. MCl
B. `MCl_(2)`
C. `MCl_(3)`
D. `M_(2)Cl_(3)`

Answer

To determine the formula of the chloride of a metal with the phosphate formula \( MHPO_4 \), we can follow these steps:

### Step 1: Analyze the given phosphate formula
The formula of the phosphate of a metal is given as \( MHPO_4 \). Here, \( M \) represents the metal, and \( HPO_4 \) is the phosphate group.

### Step 2: Determine the charge of the phosphate ion
The phosphate ion \( PO_4^{3-} \) has a charge of -3. However, since the formula is \( HPO_4^{2-} \), we can deduce that the charge of the phosphate group in this context is -2.

### Step 3: Determine the charge of the metal ion
To balance the overall charge in the compound \( MHPO_4 \), the metal \( M \) must have a charge of +2. This is because the phosphate group has a -2 charge, and thus, \( M \) must be +2 to maintain charge neutrality.

### Step 4: Write the formula for the chloride
Since the metal \( M \) has a +2 charge, it will combine with chloride ions \( Cl^- \) (which have a -1 charge). To balance the +2 charge of the metal, we need 2 chloride ions. Therefore, the formula for the chloride will be:

\[ MCl_2 \]

### Conclusion
The formula of the chloride of the metal is \( MCl_2 \).

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