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Calculating Solute Mass from Molarity and Volume

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Calculating a solute's mass from molarity and volume means multiplying molarity by volume in liters to get moles of solute, then multiplying that mole amount by molar mass to get a mass in grams.

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A chemist needs the mass of NaCl dissolved in 0.250 L of a 5.30-M solution. Multiplying 5.30 mol/L by 0.250 L gives 1.325 mol of NaCl present in that volume of solution. Multiplying 1.325 mol by NaCl's molar mass, 58.44 g/mol, gives about 77.4 g of NaCl, the mass that must have been weighed out to prepare this particular solution from scratch.

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Rounding the intermediate mole value before the final multiplication, rather than carrying a guard digit, can shift the final mass by several tenths of a gram.

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