Chapter U4.8, Problem 9E

Interpretation Introduction

Interpretation:

The mass in grams of one gold atom needs to be calculated.

Concept Introduction:

Mass is a fundamental property of an object which is representative of the amount of matter present in that object.

The average mass of an atom is expressed in terms of atomic mass units (amu).

  $\text{1 amu = 1}{\text{.66×10}}^{\text{-24}}\text{ g -----(1)}$

Answer to Problem 9E

Mass of one gold atom is $3.27\times {10}^{-22}g$

Explanation of Solution

As per the periodic table, the atomic mass of an atom of gold(Au) is 196.97 amu

Based on the conversion expressed in equation (1):

  $\begin{array}{l}\text{Mass of an atom of Au in grams is:}\\ \text{=}\frac{196.97\text{ amu }\times \text{ 1}\text{.66}\times {\text{10}}^{-24}\text{ g}}{1\text{ amu}}=3.27\times {10}^{-22}\text{ g}\end{array}$

Conclusion

Thus, the mass in grams of one gold atom is $3.27\times {10}^{-22}\text{g}$ .