Question

For many years chloroform (CHCl3) was used as an inhalation anesthetic in spite of the fact that it is also a toxic substance that may cause severe liver, kidney, and heart damage. Calculate the percent composition by mass of this compound to four significant figures. The following molar masses should be used in your calculation: H = 1.008 g/mol, C = 12.01 g/mol, Cl = 35.45 g/mol.

Answer 1

Hey there!:

Molar mass:

CHCl3 = ( 12.01 * 1 )+ (1.008 * 1 ) + ( 35.45 * 3 ) => 119.37 g/mol

C% =  ( atomic mass C / molar mass CHCl3 ) * 100

For C :

C % =  (12.01 / 119.37 ) * 100

C% = ( 0.1006 * 100 )

C% =  10.06 %

For H :

H% = ( atomic mass H / molar mass CHCl3 ) * 100

H% = ( 1.008 / 119.37 ) * 100

H% = 0.008444 * 100

H% = 0.8444 %

For Cl :

Cl % ( molar mass Cl3 / molar mass CHCl3 ):

Cl% =  ( 3 * 35.45 / 119.37 ) * 100

Cl% =  ( 106.35 / 119.37 ) * 100

Cl% = 0.8909 * 100

Cl% = 89.9%

Hope that helps!