calculate the mass of sodium sulphate required to prepare its 20% solu...
Calculation of Mass of Sodium Sulphate Required
To prepare a 20% solution of sodium sulphate in 100g of water, we need to first calculate the mass of sodium sulphate required. The formula for calculating the mass of solute required to prepare a given volume or mass of solution is:
Mass of Solute = Volume of Solution x Concentration x Molecular Weight
Determination of Concentration
The first step is to determine the concentration of the solution we want to prepare. A 20% solution of sodium sulphate in 100g of water means that 20g of sodium sulphate will be dissolved in 100g of water. We can express the concentration in terms of mass/volume percentage:
Concentration = (Mass of Solute / Volume of Solution) x 100%
Substituting the values we have:
20g / (100g + 20g) x 100% = 16.67%
Determination of Molecular Weight
The next step is to determine the molecular weight of sodium sulphate. The molecular weight of sodium sulphate is the sum of the atomic weights of all the atoms in its chemical formula. The chemical formula of sodium sulphate is Na2SO4.
Atomic weight of Na = 23g/mol
Atomic weight of S = 32g/mol
Atomic weight of O = 16g/mol
Molecular weight of Na2SO4 = 2 x 23g/mol + 32g/mol + 4 x 16g/mol = 142g/mol
Calculation of Mass of Sodium Sulphate
Substituting the values we have into the formula for mass of solute:
Mass of Sodium Sulphate = Volume of Solution x Concentration x Molecular Weight
Mass of Sodium Sulphate = 100g x 16.67% x 142g/mol
Mass of Sodium Sulphate = 23.79g
Explanation
To prepare a 20% solution of sodium sulphate in 100g of water, we need to first determine the concentration of the solution, which is expressed as mass/volume percentage. This tells us how much sodium sulphate needs to be dissolved in 100g of water to obtain a 20% solution. We then determine the molecular weight of sodium sulphate, which is the sum of the atomic weights of all the atoms in its chemical formula. Finally, we use the formula for mass of solute to calculate the mass of sodium sulphate required to prepare the solution.