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The mass of a hydrogen atom is 1.67×10⁻²4 grams. The mass of an oxygen atom is 2.66x10⁻²3 grams. How many atoms of hydrogen and oxygen are there in a molecule of water?

1) 1 atom of hydrogen and 1 atom of oxygen
2) 2 atoms of hydrogen and 1 atom of oxygen
3) 1 atom of hydrogen and 2 atoms of oxygen
4) 2 atoms of hydrogen and 2 atoms of oxygen

User Unplugged
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Final answer:

A molecule of water, which has the chemical formula H₂O, consists of 2 atoms of hydrogen and 1 atom of oxygen, making option 2 the correct answer.

Step-by-step explanation:

To answer the question regarding how many atoms of hydrogen and oxygen are there in a molecule of water, we need to consider water's chemical formula, which is H₂O. This formula indicates that each molecule of water consists of 2 atoms of hydrogen and 1 atom of oxygen. Thus, the correct answer to the question is option 2: There are 2 atoms of hydrogen and 1 atom of oxygen in a molecule of water.

The relationship between moles and molar mass is crucial here. For instance, the molar mass of water (H₂O) is 18.0158 g/mol, which means one mole of water weighs approximately 18 grams. This figure is derived from the addition of the molar masses of hydrogen (2 x 1.0079 g/mol for the two hydrogen atoms) and oxygen (16.00 g/mol). By using Avogadro's number (6.022 × 10²³ units per mole), we can determine that one mole of water molecules contains exactly 2 moles of hydrogen atoms and 1 mole of oxygen atoms.

User Daniel Jonsson
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