Which chemical formula correctly represents tetraphosphorus decaiodide?

• A. P4I10
• B. P10I4
• C. P2I5
• D. PI4

Answer: (A)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand the naming convention for binary molecular compounds, which uses prefixes to indicate the number of atoms of each element in the compound. The prefix 'tetra-' means 4, and 'deca-' means 10.
2. Identify the elements involved: 'phosphorus' corresponds to the symbol P, and 'iodide' corresponds to the symbol I.
3. Apply the prefixes to the element symbols: 'tetraphosphorus' means 4 phosphorus atoms, so write P with a subscript 4, and 'decaiodide' means 10 iodine atoms, so write I with a subscript 10.
4. Combine the symbols and subscripts to form the chemical formula: \(\mathrm{P_4I_{10}}\).
5. Verify that the formula matches the name by checking the number of atoms indicated by the prefixes and ensuring the order follows the convention (usually the less electronegative element first, which is phosphorus here).