A particular brand of beef jerky contains 0.0552% sodium nitrite by mass and is sold in an 8.00-oz bag. What mass of sodium does the sodium nitrite contribute to the sodium content of the bag of beef jerky?

Verified step by step guidance

1. Convert the mass of the beef jerky from ounces to grams using the conversion factor: 1 oz = 28.3495 g.
2. Calculate the mass of sodium nitrite in the beef jerky by multiplying the total mass of the beef jerky (in grams) by the percentage of sodium nitrite (0.0552%).
3. Determine the molar mass of sodium nitrite (NaNO2) by adding the atomic masses of sodium (Na), nitrogen (N), and oxygen (O).
4. Calculate the mass of sodium in the sodium nitrite by using the ratio of the molar mass of sodium to the molar mass of sodium nitrite.
5. Multiply the mass of sodium nitrite (from step 2) by the ratio (from step 4) to find the mass of sodium contributed by sodium nitrite.

Key Concepts

Mass Percent Concentration

Mass percent concentration is a way to express the concentration of a solute in a solution or mixture. It is calculated by dividing the mass of the solute by the total mass of the mixture and multiplying by 100. In this case, the sodium nitrite's mass percent indicates how much of the beef jerky's mass is made up of sodium nitrite, which is essential for determining the total mass of sodium present.

Molar Mass

Molar mass is the mass of one mole of a substance, typically expressed in grams per mole (g/mol). For sodium nitrite (NaNO2), the molar mass can be calculated by summing the atomic masses of its constituent elements: sodium (Na), nitrogen (N), and oxygen (O). Understanding molar mass is crucial for converting between mass and moles, which is necessary for calculating the sodium content from the sodium nitrite mass.

Stoichiometry

Stoichiometry is the area of chemistry that deals with the relationships between the quantities of reactants and products in chemical reactions. In this context, stoichiometry helps in determining how much sodium is present in sodium nitrite by using the chemical formula to find the ratio of sodium to sodium nitrite. This relationship allows for the calculation of the total sodium mass contributed by the sodium nitrite in the beef jerky.