Q152CP

Question

TNT (trinitrotoluene; below) is used as an explosive in construction. Calculate the mass of each element in 1.00 lb of TNT.

Step-by-Step Solution

Verified
Answer

The mass of each element in 1 lb of TNT can be found, as:

 m(C)=0.37 lbm(N)=0.1850 lbm(H)=0.0221 lbm(O)=0.4229 lb

1Step 1: Calculating formula mass of TNT

The formula mass can be calculated by adding the mass of each element present, as,

 

Mr=7Ar(C)+3Ar(N)+5Ar(H)+6Ar(O)     =7(12)+3(14)+5(1)+6Ar(16)     =227amu
2Step 2: Calculating the mass percentage of each element

The respective percentage can be denoted as,

 Percentage of C=7×Ar(C)Mr(C7N3H5O6                              =84227×100                              =37%Percentage of N=3×Ar(N)Mr(C7N3H5O6)                               =42227×100                                =18.50%Percentage of H=5×Ar(H)Mr(C7N3H5O6)                              =5227×100                              =2.21%Percentage of O=6×Ar(O)Mr(C7N3H5O6                              =96227×100                              =42.29%

3Step 3: Calculating the mass of each element

Each element can multiply the total mass by a percentage.

 m(C)=1lb×0.37         =0.37 lb m(N)=1 lb×0.1850         =0.1850 lb m(H)=1 lb×0.022         =0.0221 lbm(O)=1 lb×0.4229         =0.4229 lb