What is the molecular mass of MgSO4?
Understand the Problem
The question is asking for the molecular mass of magnesium sulfate (MgSO4). This involves adding the atomic masses of all the elements in the compound to calculate its total molecular mass.
Answer
120.366 u
Answer for screen readers
The molecular mass of MgSO_4 is 120.366 u
Steps to Solve
- Identify atomic masses of constituent elements
Identify the atomic masses of magnesium (Mg), sulfur (S), and oxygen (O) from the periodic table:
- Magnesium (Mg) = 24.305 u
- Sulfur (S) = 32.065 u
- Oxygen (O) = 15.999 u
- Calculate the total mass of oxygen atoms
MgSO$_4$ contains 4 oxygen atoms, so multiply the atomic mass of oxygen by 4:
$$\text{Total mass of O} = 4 \times 15.999 = 63.996 \text{ u}$$
- Sum the masses of all atoms in MgSO$_4$
Add the atomic masses of magnesium, sulfur, and the total mass of oxygen to get the molecular mass of MgSO$_4$:
$$\text{Molecular mass of MgSO}_4 = 24.305 + 32.065 + 63.996 = 120.366 \text{ u}$$
The molecular mass of MgSO_4 is 120.366 u
More Information
The molecular mass (also called molecular weight) is a measure of the sum of the atomic masses of the atoms in a molecule. It helps in understanding the proportions in which substances react chemically.
Tips
A common mistake is to forget to multiply the atomic mass of oxygen by 4 since there are 4 oxygen atoms in MgSO4.
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