Final answer:
To extract gold from a 115-gram medal with 71.5% gold content, one would obtain approximately 0.417 moles of gold by dividing the mass of gold (82.225 grams) by the molar mass of gold (196.97 g/mol).
Step-by-step explanation:
To calculate how much gold could be extracted from a medal that weighs 115 grams with a 71.5% gold composition by mass, we first need to find the mass of the gold in the medal:
- Mass of gold = 71.5% of total mass of the medal = 0.715 × 115 grams = 82.225 grams
- To find the number of moles of gold, we use the formula: number of moles = mass of gold (in grams) / molar mass of gold (in g/mol).
- The molar mass of gold (Au) is 196.97 g/mol, according to the periodic table.
- Number of moles of gold = 82.225 grams / 196.97 g/mol = 0.417 moles (approximately).
Therefore, the amount of gold that could be extracted from a medal weighing 115 grams is approximately 0.417 moles of gold.