Question

The cost of a 1 gram palladium bar is about $52. How much is each palladium atom worth?

a) $5.2 x 10^-5
b) $5.2 x 10^-2
c) $52
d) $9.2 x 10ˆ-21

Answer 1

The value of each palladium atom is $9.2 x 10^-21.

Step-by-step explanation:

The cost of the 1-gram palladium bar is $52. To find out how much each palladium atom is worth, we need to know how many atoms are in 1 gram of palladium. The atomic mass of palladium is approximately 106.42 grams per mole, so 1 mole of palladium will contain 6.022 x 1023 atoms. Therefore, we can use the Avogadro's number to calculate the number of palladium atoms in 1 gram of palladium:

Number of atoms = (1 gram / 106.42 grams per mole) x (6.022 x 1023 atoms per mole)

Number of atoms = 5.64 x 1021 atoms

To find the value of each atom, we can divide the cost of the palladium bar by the number of atoms:

Value of each atom = $52 / (5.64 x 1021 atoms)

Value of each atom = $9.2 x 10-21