Final answer:
By applying the Law of Conservation of Mass, we determined that 438 grams of sodium sulfate were used in the reaction that produced sodium chloride and aluminum sulfate.
Step-by-step explanation:
To solve this problem, we use the principle known as the Law of Conservation of Mass, which states that mass is neither created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction. According to this law, the mass of the reactants will equal the mass of the products in a chemical reaction. In this case, we want to find out how much sodium sulfate was used in the reaction that produced sodium chloride (NaCl) and aluminum sulfate (Al2(SO4)3).
To do this, we add the mass of the sodium chloride and aluminum sulfate products:
- Mass of sodium chloride (NaCl): 342 g
- Mass of aluminum sulfate (Al2(SO4)3): 360 g
The total mass of the products is therefore 342 g + 360 g = 702 g. Since the aluminum chloride (AlCl3) started with 264 g and the total mass doesn't change, we must have had 702 g - 264 g = 438 g of sodium sulfate (Na2SO4) reacting.
So, 438 grams of sodium sulfate were used in the chemical reaction.