Question

How many moles are there in 20mL of vinegar?

Answer 1

Well, to a first approx. vinegar, the stuff you put on your fish and chips, is water.....

Explanation:

Of course, there is a little acetic acid....but at a concentration we have to ignore for this question......

`(20*mLxx1*g*mL^-1)/(18.01*g*mol^-1)=1.11*mol`.

You want a more discriminating estimate, you quote the concentration of the vinegar, and then we may calculate the moles of acid, and the moles of water.....

Answer 2

Moles of what? You cannot have "moles of vinegar", do you mean moles of acetic acid?

Explanation:

Typical values for vinegar that is used domestically are around 5% acetic acid by volume.

If you assume this figure, it means that 20 ml will contain 1 ml of acetic acid. The density of acetic acid is 1.05 g/cc at ambient temperature, and the molar mass is 60.05 g/mol. Therefore in 20 ml of vinegar, you will have (1 x 1.05/60.05) = 0.0175 moles of acetic acid.

But you cannot quote "moles of vinegar" because vinegar isn't a compound, its a mixture.