High School

Select the correct answer.

The atomic mass of potassium is 39.1. What is the mass of [tex]$6.02 \times 10^{23}$[/tex] atoms of potassium?

A. [tex]\quad 39.1 \, \text{mg}[/tex]
B. [tex]\quad 39.1 \, \text{g}[/tex]
C. [tex]\quad 39.1 \, \text{kg}[/tex]
D. [tex]\quad 6.02 \times 39.1 \, \text{mg}[/tex]
E. [tex]\quad 6.02 \times 39.1 \, \text{g}[/tex]

Answer :

To find the mass of [tex]\(6.02 \times 10^{23}\)[/tex] atoms of potassium, we need to relate the atomic mass to the concept of a mole. The atomic mass of potassium is given as 39.1. This value represents the mass of one mole of potassium atoms, which corresponds to Avogadro's number, [tex]\(6.02 \times 10^{23}\)[/tex] atoms.

Here's the step-by-step solution:

1. Understand the Concept:
- The atomic mass (in grams) of an element is the mass of one mole of its atoms. For potassium, this is 39.1 grams.

2. Relate to Avogadro's Number:
- Avogadro's number, [tex]\(6.02 \times 10^{23}\)[/tex], is the number of atoms in one mole. Therefore, 39.1 grams of potassium is the mass of [tex]\(6.02 \times 10^{23}\)[/tex] potassium atoms.

3. Conclusion:
- Since the atomic mass provided is 39.1 g for [tex]\(6.02 \times 10^{23}\)[/tex] atoms, that's the mass we're asked to find.

Therefore, the mass of [tex]\(6.02 \times 10^{23}\)[/tex] atoms of potassium is 39.1 grams. So, the correct answer is:

B. [tex]\(39.1 \, \text{g}\)[/tex]