What is the molecular weight of one kilodalton in g/mol? I did the conversions and I got 1.66*10^-24, but I’m not sure if that’s correct. If you could show me the correct way to do the conversions, I would appreciate it.
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
One kilodalton (kDa) is equivalent to 1,000 daltons (Da), and since the dalton is defined as the unified atomic mass unit (u), 1 Da = 1 g/mol.
So, the molecular weight of 1 kDa = 1,000 g/mol.
Now, your result of 1.66 * 10^-24 is not the correct molecular weight of 1 kDa, but it might be related to a different calculation, possibly involving a conversion to the mass of a single molecule in grams.
Let me walk you through the conversions step-by-step:
Step 1: Understanding the molecular weight of 1 kDa
1 kilodalton (kDa) = 1,000 daltons (Da), and since the atomic mass unit (Da) is equivalent to 1 g/mol, we have:
- 1 kDa = 1,000 g/mol
So, the molecular weight of one kilodalton is simply 1,000 g/mol.
Step 2: Relating to individual molecules
If you’re trying to find the mass of a single molecule with a molecular weight of 1 kDa, you would need to convert this to grams per molecule. To do this, you would use Avogadro’s number (6.022 * 10^23 molecules/mol):Mass of one molecule=Molecular weight in g/molAvogadro’s number\text{Mass of one molecule} = \frac{\text{Molecular weight in g/mol}}{\text{Avogadro’s number}}Mass of one molecule=Avogadro’s numberMolecular weight in g/mol
Substituting the molecular weight of 1 kDa (which is 1,000 g/mol):Mass of one molecule=1,000 g/mol6.022×1023 molecules/mol≈1.66×10−21 g\text{Mass of one molecule} = \frac{1,000 \, \text{g/mol}}{6.022 \times 10^{23} \, \text{molecules/mol}} \approx 1.66 \times 10^{-21} \, \text{g}Mass of one molecule=6.022×1023molecules/mol1,000g/mol≈1.66×10−21g
Step 3: Conclusion
The molecular weight of 1 kilodalton is 1,000 g/mol, and if you want the mass of a single molecule, it’s approximately 1.66 * 10^-21 grams, not 1.66 * 10^-24 grams.
Your calculation seems to have made a slight error when converting the molecular weight to the mass of a single molecule.
