Question

How many kgs of carbon does 0.1 mole of Buckminsterfullerene contain?

Answer 1

In the above given question, we are given a small amount of an element Buckminsterfullerene which is an allotrope of Carbon-12. We have to calculate the mass of carbon in kilograms, which is present in the sample of 0.1 mole of Buckminsterfullerene. In order to approach the solution, we have to consider the molar mass of carbon that is 12g/mole. That means, the mass of 1 mole of carbon is known to be 12 grams. Also, the chemical formula for Buckminsterfullerene is written as ${C_{60}}$ , that means one molecule of Buckminsterfullerene contains 60 atoms of carbon.

Complete answer:
We are given a sample of an allotrope of carbon that is Buckminsterfullerene which has a total amount of $0.1$ mole.
We have to calculate the amount of carbon in kilograms that is contained in the given amount of Buckminsterfullerene.
We know that the molar mass of Carbon-12 is $12$ grams.
Since, the chemical formula for Buckminsterfullerene is ${C_{60}}$ ,
Therefore one molecule of Buckminsterfullerene contains $60$ atoms of carbon.
Hence, the molecular mass of Buckminsterfullerene is equal to the mass of $60$ atoms of carbon.
So we can calculate the molar mass of Buckminsterfullerene as,
$\Rightarrow 60 \times 12$
That gives us
$\Rightarrow 720g$
Hence the mass of $1$ mole of Buckminsterfullerene is $720g$ .
Therefore, the mass of $0.1$ mole of Buckminsterfullerene is,
$\Rightarrow 720 \times 0.1$
So we get,
$\Rightarrow 72g$
So $0.1$ mole of Buckminsterfullerene contains $72g$ of carbon.
Converting the mass in kilogram units, we have
$\Rightarrow 72g = \dfrac{{72}}{{1000}}kg$
That gives us,
$\Rightarrow 0.072kg$
Therefore, $0.1$ mole of Buckminsterfullerene contains $0.072kg$ of carbon.

Note:
Buckminsterfullerene is an allotrope of carbon-12 and it was discovered collectively by three scientists namely K.E.Smalley, R.F.Curl, and H.W.Kroto.
Buckminsterfullerene is a type of fullerene with the chemical formula ${C_{60}}$ . It has a cage-like fused-ring structure that resembles a soccer ball and its structure is made of twenty hexagons and twelve pentagons. Each carbon atom contains three bonds. It is a black solid that dissolves in hydrocarbon solvents to produce a violet solution. Another allotrope of carbon is diamond.