Final answer:
To find the molarity of a 96.4% sulphuric acid sample with a specific gravity of 1.84, calculate the mass of acid in 1 liter of solution, use the mass percentage to find the mass of pure acid, divide by molar mass (98.12 g/mol) to get moles, and then determine molarity.
Step-by-step explanation:
Calculating the Molarity of Sulphuric Acid
To calculate the molarity of a 96.4% sulphuric acid sample with specific gravity 1.84, we first find the mass of sulphuric acid in 1 liter of the solution. Since specific gravity is the ratio of the substance's density compared to water's density and given that water's density is 1 g/mL, we can say that the density of the acid is 1.84 g/mL. This calculation will allow us to find out the volume of one mole of sulphuric acid and thereby calculate its molarity.
The density calculation would be: 1.84 g/mL × 1000 mL = 1840 g/L. Since the solution is 96.4% H₂SO₄ by mass, this means that in one liter of the solution, which weighs 1840 g, there is 96.4% × 1840 g of H₂SO₄. The molecular mass of H₂SO₄ (sulphuric acid) is given as 98.12 g/mol. Thus, the number of moles of H₂SO₄ in 1 liter can be calculated and from there we find the molarity (mol/L) of the acid.
Remember to use the correct molecular mass of sulphuric acid, which is essential for the molarity calculation. It's also noteworthy that sulphuric acid is used in various industrial processes and the accurate measurement of its concentration is vital in these applications.
The final steps will look like:
- Calculate the mass of H₂SO₄ in 1 liter: 96.4% × 1840 g = 1773.76 g
- Moles of H₂SO₄ in 1773.76 g: 1773.76 g / 98.12 g/mol = 18.07 mol
- Since this is in 1 liter, the molarity of the sulphuric acid is 18.07 M.