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Iron ions, Fe+3, will bind to oxygen ions, O-2, in a ratio that depends on their charges since the total positive charges in the molecule must equal the total negative charges. The eventual number of positive and negative charges is found by the least common multiple of the charges.

In this instance, the charges are 3 and 2. The least common multiple is 6, so two atoms of the Fe+3 are needed to have a total positivie charge of +6, and three O-2 are needed to have a total negative charge of -6 to provide the electrical balance.

The resulting molecule is Fe2O3.

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13y ago

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