Chemistry Help

[agentb159]

Ok, a friend and I have been struggling for the last two hours trying to get this problem. Or instructor insists thats its easy but I think were just not grasping it, so if someone here could give us some insight we would be grateful.

The problem is as follows :

Chlorophyll, the substance that gives leaves there green color, has one magnesium atom per molecule of chlorophyll, and contains 2.72% magnesium by mass. What is the molar mass of Chlorophyll.

IS there somehting missing from the problem or are we just not getting it.

Any help is apprciated.

Agentb

[muno]

You would need to know what other atoms are in chlorophyll molecule.
Knowing their mass would allow you to calculate the molar mass of chlorophyll.

So says my wife
-M

Actually, I think you'd just need the molar weight of a magnesium atom. Then divide the molar weight by 2.72, multiply the result by 100, and then subtract the molar weight from that. Make any sense?

[muno]

To me it doesn't, none of that chemistry stuff does
I don't understand anything about it.
-M

Don't think of it as chemistry. It's just simple math. They're only throwing names in their to confuse you. I actually added an extra step in there to take out the magnesium. That was a mistake. I read the problem wrong.

Formula:

x = WoM/2.27 x 100

WoM = the molar mass of magnesium.

Make sense yet?

[osprey4]

Good job, Whir!

This could have been a math question as easily as a chemistry question. My son is taking chemistry this year and I'm looking forward to helping him.

Thanks.

I always enjoyed chemistry in high school. At least until I hit organic. Blech.

But higher chemistry is just physics in disguise. It all boils down to math eventually.

[Theophylact]

Whir's right. You need to know that the atomic weight of magnesium is 24.305; divide that by 0.0272, and voilĂ*! 893.6 = the molecular weight of chlorophyll.

[Mitch Andre]

Sorry for the solicitation, but if you have any further chemistry questions please feel free to check out my site url: hop.to/chem . I'm a Berkeley Graduate Chemist and I answer questions in my free time.

[Gait_Keeper]

Whir I'm impressed

hard job to impress a New Yorker