Question

What is the molar mass of table salt (i.e. sodium chloride)?

Answer 1

Read the whole thing below, slowly and thoroughly.

Explanation:

To find the molar mass of a compound,

Step 1: Break the compound up so you could see clearly what elements (from the periodic table) are involved.

In that case, you are referring to Sodium Chloride (NaCl).
If you break them up, you can see that Sodium Chloride (NaCl) is made up of Na and Cl.

Step 2: Find the molar mass of each elements involved in a compound.

Sodium Chloride (NaCl) is made up of Sodium (Na) and Chloride (Cl) ions. You need to find the molar mass of Na and Cl. If you look straight into the periodic table, you can identify it immediately.

Na = `23.0 g mol^-1`
Cl = `35.5 g mol^-1`

Step 3: Add the component parts up and it will give you the molar mass of the compound (NaCl).
23.0 + 35.5 = 58.5

Therefore, the molar mass of Sodium Chloride (NaCl) is `58.5 g mol^-1`.