How do I find the mass of potassium in a #50.0*g# mass of potassium sulfate?

Question

Mateo Aguilar · Accepted Answer

Divide the mass by the molar mass.

Molecular mass #"K"_2"SO"_4 = "174.26 g·mol"^-1#. The periodic table contains the atomic masses of each component atom that makes up the molecule, which you can add to determine this. You have #"50.0 g"#. The second value is divided by the first. #(50.0 color(red)(cancel(color(black)("g"))))/(174.26 color(red)(cancel(color(black)("g")))"·mol"^-1)= "0.287 mol"# of #"K"_2"SO"_4# Now remember to multiply this answer by #2#, because there are two #"K"#-atoms per molecule, so the final answer is #0.574mol# of #"K"#

Ellie Andrews · Answer

undefined To find the mass of potassium in potassium sulfate, you need to know the molar mass of potassium sulfate (K₂SO₄).

1. Calculate the molar mass of potassium sulfate (K₂SO₄) by adding the atomic masses of each element:
$$ \text{Molar mass of K}_2\text{SO}_4 = 2 \times \text{atomic mass of K} + 1 \times \text{atomic mass of S} + 4 \times \text{atomic mass of O} $$

2. Once you have the molar mass of potassium sulfate, determine the mass percent of potassium in the compound:
$$ \text{Mass percent of potassium} = \frac{2 \times \text{atomic mass of K}}{\text{Molar mass of K}_2\text{SO}_4} \times 100\% $$

3. Finally, calculate the mass of potassium in a 50.0 g sample of potassium sulfate:
$$ \text{Mass of potassium} = \text{Mass percent of potassium} \times \text{Mass of potassium sulfate} $$