How many neutrons are present in a #54*mL# volume of #""^(1)H_2""^(16)O# under standard conditions?

1 Answer
Apr 30, 2017

Approx...#24*N_A#.........

Explanation:

Each individual water molecule, #""^(1)H_2""^(16)O# molecule contains #"8 neutrons"# (of course for this problem we ignore isotopic distribution, and these all are contained in the oxygen nucleus.

And so #"number of neutrons"#

#="8 neutrons"xx(54*mLxx1.00*g*mL^-1)/(18.01*g*mol^-1)xxN_A#,

where #N_A="Avocado Number"=6.022xx10^23*mol^-1#

#=24*N_A#.

And here I use #N_A# as I would any other collective number, #"dozen, score, gross"# etc. I am certainly free to do so, and any other chemist would immediately appreciate the quantity.