Final answer:
The mass of sugar needed to get 50.0 grams of carbon when it is 42.1% carbon by mass, set up the proportion (42.1 g C / 100 g sugar) = (50 g C / x g sugar) and solve for 'x'. The calculation yields the total mass of sugar needed. By cross-multiplying and solving for x, you get: x = (50 g C × 100 g sugar) / 42.1 g C, T.
Step-by-step explanation:
To calculate the mass of sugar you would need to weigh out to contain 50.0 grams of carbon, given that table sugar is 42.1% by mass carbon, you can use the concept of percent by mass. The percent by mass formula can be expressed as: (Mass of Component / Total Mass of Mixture) × 100% = Percent by Mass, Using this, if table sugar is 42.1% carbon, for every 100 g of sugar, there are 42.1 g of carbon.
To find out how much sugar contains 50 g of carbon, you can set up a proportion: (42.1 g C / 100 g sugar) = (50 g C / x g sugar) By cross-multiplying and solving for x, you get: x = (50 g C × 100 g sugar) / 42.1 g C, This calculation will give you the mass of sugar needed that contains 50.0 grams of carbon.