What is the molar mass of Aspirin (C9H8O4)?

Understand the Problem

The question asks for the molar mass of Aspirin with the chemical formula C9H8O4. To find this, we need to use the periodic table to determine the atomic masses of Carbon (C), Hydrogen (H), and Oxygen (O), then calculate the molar mass by multiplying each atomic mass by its subscript in the formula and summing the results.

Answer

$180.16$ g/mol

Steps to Solve

Identify the atomic masses of C, H, and O from the periodic table.

From the periodic table, we have:
- Carbon (C): 12.011 g/mol
- Hydrogen (H): 1.008 g/mol
- Oxygen (O): 15.999 g/mol
Calculate the total mass of each element in one mole of Aspirin (C9H8O4).
- Carbon: $9 \times 12.011 = 108.099$ g/mol
- Hydrogen: $8 \times 1.008 = 8.064$ g/mol
- Oxygen: $4 \times 15.999 = 63.996$ g/mol
Calculate the molar mass of Aspirin by summing the masses of each element.

Molar mass of Aspirin = mass of Carbon + mass of Hydrogen + mass of Oxygen. Molar mass of Aspirin $= 108.099 + 8.064 + 63.996 = 180.159$ g/mol.
Round the result to match the precision of the answer choices.

Rounding $180.159$ g/mol to two decimal places gives $180.16$ g/mol.

$180.16$ g/mol

More Information

Aspirin is a widely used medication to reduce pain, fever, and inflammation. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines.

Tips

A common mistake is using truncated atomic masses or not multiplying the atomic masses by the correct number of atoms in the molecule. Also, rounding errors can occur if intermediate calculations are rounded prematurely.

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