Question

What is the atomic mass of \[S{O_4}\] ?

Answer 1

Hint: Atomic mass refers to the mass of one individual unit of any chemical substance and is represented as atomic mass unit (i.e. ‘ \[a.m.u\] ’ or ‘ \[u\] ’) which is numerically equivalent to the molar mass of that substance. The molar mass i.e. mass of one mole of any chemical compound refers to the ratio of mass of a sample of that particular compound and the amount of substance in that particular sample (in moles) and is generally represented as \[gmo{l^{ - 1}}\] .

Complete step by step answer:
We know that the atomic mass is numerically equal to the molar mass of that substance so we can calculate the molar mass of \[S{O_4}\] in this question. The molar mass of any compound can be found out by adding the relative atomic masses of each element present in that particular compound. The number of atoms in a compound can be determined from their chemical formula.
Now, let us calculate the molar mass of the given compound having a chemical formula of \[S{O_4}\] . We already know the atomic mass of sulphur and oxygen which is mentioned below:
$
  S = 32.07u \\
  O = 15.9994u \\
$
From the chemical formula, it is clear that the given compound comprises of one atom of sulphur and four atoms of oxygen and thus molar mass of this compound can be easily calculated by adding the mass of one sulphur atoms and four oxygen atoms as shown below:
 \[
  Molar{\text{ }}mass{\text{ }}of{\text{ S}}{O_4} = (1 \times S) + (4 \times O) \\
   = (1 \times 32.07) + (4 \times 15.9994) = 96.0676gmo{l^{ - 1}} \\
\]
As we know that the atomic mass is equal to the mass of one mole of compound, the atomic mass of \[S{O_4}\] is 96.0676 \[u\] .

Note: Atomic mass and molar mass plays a significant role in chemistry especially during setting up an experiment. During testing principles which involve specific amounts or quantities of a substance, molar mass is used to figure out the exact quantity to be weighed of that particular substance. Basically molar mass is used to determine the stoichiometry in the chemical reactions as well as equations.