What is the mass in grams of one mole of Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)?
The correct answer and explanation is:
The molar mass of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) is 64.06 grams per mole (g/mol).
To calculate this, we first look at the atomic masses of sulfur (S) and oxygen (O). According to the periodic table:
- The atomic mass of sulfur (S) is approximately 32.06 g/mol.
- The atomic mass of oxygen (O) is approximately 16.00 g/mol.
In the chemical formula SO₂, there is one sulfur atom and two oxygen atoms. To find the molar mass, we sum the atomic masses of each element:
- 1 sulfur atom: 32.06 g/mol × 1 = 32.06 g/mol
- 2 oxygen atoms: 16.00 g/mol × 2 = 32.00 g/mol
Adding these together:
32.06 g/mol + 32.00 g/mol = 64.06 g/mol
Thus, the molar mass of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) is 64.06 g/mol. This means that one mole of SO₂ weighs 64.06 grams.
Moles are a standard measurement used in chemistry to quantify the amount of a substance. One mole of any substance contains approximately 6.022×10236.022 \times 10^{23} entities, such as atoms or molecules, which is known as Avogadro’s number. Therefore, one mole of SO₂ contains 6.022×10236.022 \times 10^{23} SO₂ molecules, and the total mass of these molecules is 64.06 grams.