How do I calculate the moles of carbon present in a polymer if I dont have the structural formula ?. I only have the molecular weight.
7 years ago
Answered By Hon C
Do you have the name of the polymer. It should be like -(CxHxNx) -Otherwise there is no way if you dont know what is in the polymer.
7 years ago
Answered By Kimberly I
The number of moles could be derived from the ratio of the molar mass and molecular weight. If it's only based on carbon, you can assume the form, C4. The question might give you a combustion reaction or similar reaction so that you formulate your own equation.
Since the original question is not posted, I am unclear on what information is provided. Perhaps the number of moles will be based on the ratio of another compound. E.g 1:2. And all you have to do is double the number of moles for the other compound.
7 years ago
Answered By Victor A
This is an interesting question. The simplest answer is this: You have one equation and two unknowns
The equation is Number of moles (N) = Mass (g) / Molecular Weight (g/mole)Eq. 1
So, if you have a certain amount of polymer, say 20 grams, you can have the number of moles of the polymer by applying equation 1.
However, because you want to know the number of moles of carbon (which is a fraction of the total moles), you need to know the composition of the polymer. In other words, the number of atoms of C, H and any other element in one molecule must be known. This is the second equation needed.
Because there is no second equation, you can only know the total number of moles and I mean TOTAL. You could approximate your answer by assuming that 80 % of the molecular weight is C, but this would be a rough/inaccurate approximation.
To address your question: In order to know the number of moles of C, you need to know the structural formula of the polymer. There is no other way that I know of. This is my final answer. I hope it can be useful. Thank you for posting the question with Tutor Tag.
7 years ago
Answered By Hon C
Do you have the name of the polymer. It should be like -(CxHxNx) -Otherwise there is no way if you dont know what is in the polymer.
7 years ago
Answered By Kimberly I
The number of moles could be derived from the ratio of the molar mass and molecular weight. If it's only based on carbon, you can assume the form, C4. The question might give you a combustion reaction or similar reaction so that you formulate your own equation.
Since the original question is not posted, I am unclear on what information is provided. Perhaps the number of moles will be based on the ratio of another compound. E.g 1:2. And all you have to do is double the number of moles for the other compound.
7 years ago
Answered By Victor A
This is an interesting question. The simplest answer is this: You have one equation and two unknowns
The equation is Number of moles (N) = Mass (g) / Molecular Weight (g/mole) Eq. 1
So, if you have a certain amount of polymer, say 20 grams, you can have the number of moles of the polymer by applying equation 1.
However, because you want to know the number of moles of carbon (which is a fraction of the total moles), you need to know the composition of the polymer. In other words, the number of atoms of C, H and any other element in one molecule must be known. This is the second equation needed.
Because there is no second equation, you can only know the total number of moles and I mean TOTAL. You could approximate your answer by assuming that 80 % of the molecular weight is C, but this would be a rough/inaccurate approximation.
To address your question: In order to know the number of moles of C, you need to know the structural formula of the polymer. There is no other way that I know of. This is my final answer. I hope it can be useful. Thank you for posting the question with Tutor Tag.