What is the molecular mass of sulfuric acid, H2SO4? Atomic Mass Element Symbol (kg/mol) Sulfur S 0.0321 Oxygen O 0.0160 Hydrogen H 0.00101 (Unit = kg/mol)
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
To calculate the molecular mass of sulfuric acid (H2SO4), we need to sum up the atomic masses of all the elements in the compound, multiplied by their respective number of atoms.
Sulfuric acid (H2SO4) consists of:
- 2 atoms of hydrogen (H)
- 1 atom of sulfur (S)
- 4 atoms of oxygen (O)
Using the given atomic masses:
- Hydrogen (H) = 0.00101 kg/mol
- Sulfur (S) = 0.0321 kg/mol
- Oxygen (O) = 0.0160 kg/mol
Now, we calculate the mass contribution of each element:
- Hydrogen: 2 × 0.00101 = 0.00202 kg/mol
- Sulfur: 1 × 0.0321 = 0.0321 kg/mol
- Oxygen: 4 × 0.0160 = 0.0640 kg/mol
Adding them together to find the total molecular mass:
Molecular mass of H2SO4 = 0.00202 + 0.0321 + 0.0640 = 0.09812 kg/mol
Therefore, the molecular mass of sulfuric acid (H2SO4) is 0.09812 kg/mol.
Explanation:
The molecular mass (or molar mass) represents the sum of the masses of all atoms in a molecule. For sulfuric acid, the mass contributions from hydrogen, sulfur, and oxygen are added together based on their stoichiometric coefficients (the number of atoms in the compound). This process allows us to determine the total mass of one mole of sulfuric acid molecules in kilograms.
