Leucine is an amino acid with the formula C6H13NO2 . Determine the number of moles of carbon in 35.33 g of leucine.

Answer 1

From the chemical formula of leucine, we see that every mole of leucine contains 6 moles of carbon (C).

So, if we can find the moles of leucine, we can then easily determine the moles of carbon.

Molar mass of leucine = 131.2 g/mol

moles of leucine = 35.33 g x 1 mol / 131.2 g = 0.2693 moles of leucine

moles of carbon = 0.2693 mols leucine x 6 mols C/mol leucine = 1.616 mols of carbon