Calculating percentage by mass

[littlebearrrr]

Homework Statement

Many fertilizers contain ammonium phosphate as a source of phosphorus and nitrogen. A 7.225 g sample of a fertilizer is dissolved in water and mixed with excess barium chloride solution, and the following reaction occurs:

2(NH4)3PO4(aq) + 3BaCl2(aq) -> Ba3(PO4)2(s) + 6NH4Cl(aq)

The product mixture is found to contain 3.741 g of barium phosphate. Using this info, calculate the percentage by mass of ammonium phosphate in the fertilizer.

Homework Equations

% by mass = grams of fertilizer/molar mass of fertilizer x 100
(unsure if that's correct, but that's what I think it should be)

The Attempt at a Solution

I started by taking the given amount of barium phosphate to find moles of ammonium phosphate. I think I need to use that to find grams of ammonium phosphate. However, I am also having difficulty trying to understand what the problem is specifying as the fertilizer. Is it the ammonium phosphate AND the barium chloride, or just the ammonium phosphate?

 

[DrClaude]

Homework Equations

% by mass = grams of fertilizer/molar mass of fertilizer x 100
(unsure if that's correct, but that's what I think it should be)

There is no such thing as the molar mass of a fertilizer, as it is a mixture. You want to know what percentage of the total mass is due to ammonium phosphate:

% by mass = mass of ammonium phosphate / total mass of fertilizer

The Attempt at a Solution

I started by taking the given amount of barium phosphate to find moles of ammonium phosphate.

You can do that. You can also calculate everything using just masses.

I think I need to use that to find grams of ammonium phosphate. However, I am also having difficulty trying to understand what the problem is specifying as the fertilizer. Is it the ammonium phosphate AND the barium chloride, or just the ammonium phosphate?

The fertilizer is a mixture of ammonium phosphate and other stuff. The barium chloride is added in the lab.

 

[littlebearrrr]

Thank you DrClaude! Makes a whole lot of sense now (Answer I got: 25.65%)

Steps:
Grams of barium phosphate -> moles of barium phosphate -> moles of ammonium phosphate -> grams of ammonium phosphate.

Then divided grams of ammonium phosphate by grams of fertilizer (multiplied by 100).

 

[Borek]

(Answer I got: 25.65%)

Looks good.

 

[DeeNos]

Based on the information given, it seems that the fertilizer in this problem is just the ammonium phosphate. This is because the reaction provided only involves the ammonium phosphate and barium chloride, and the goal is to find the percentage by mass of ammonium phosphate in the fertilizer.

To solve this problem, you can first use the given information to find the moles of barium phosphate produced in the reaction. From there, you can use the mole ratio between barium phosphate and ammonium phosphate (2:1) to find the moles of ammonium phosphate present in the original sample.

Next, you can use the molar mass of ammonium phosphate to convert the moles to grams. Finally, you can use the formula % by mass = grams of ammonium phosphate/molar mass of fertilizer x 100 to find the percentage by mass of ammonium phosphate in the fertilizer.

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any further questions or need clarification.