A 100.0-g sample of a certain bronze is 90.0% copper by mass and 10.0% tin. Which metal can be called the solvent, and which the solute?

Verified step by step guidance

Understand the concept of solvent and solute: In a solution, the solvent is the component present in the largest amount, while the solute is the component present in a smaller amount.

Identify the components of the bronze sample: The sample contains copper and tin.

Determine the mass of each component: The sample is 90.0% copper and 10.0% tin. Calculate the mass of copper as \( \text{mass of copper} = 100.0 \text{ g} \times 0.90 \) and the mass of tin as \( \text{mass of tin} = 100.0 \text{ g} \times 0.10 \).

Compare the masses of copper and tin: The component with the greater mass is the solvent, and the component with the lesser mass is the solute.

Conclude which metal is the solvent and which is the solute based on the comparison: Since copper has a greater mass than tin, copper is the solvent and tin is the solute.

Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Solvent and Solute Definitions

In a solution, the solvent is the substance that is present in the greatest amount and typically dissolves the solute, which is the substance present in a lesser amount. In this case, the solvent is the component that facilitates the dissolution of the solute.

Composition of Alloys

Alloys are mixtures of two or more metals, where the properties of the resulting material differ from those of the individual components. In bronze, which is primarily composed of copper and tin, the dominant metal (copper) acts as the solvent, while the lesser component (tin) serves as the solute.

Mass Percent Composition

Mass percent composition is a way to express the concentration of a component in a mixture, calculated as the mass of the component divided by the total mass of the mixture, multiplied by 100. In this question, the mass percent indicates that copper constitutes 90.0% of the bronze, confirming its role as the solvent.

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Textbook Question

The commercial production of nitric acid involves the following chemical reactions:

4 NH₃(g) + 5 O₂(g) → 4 NO(g) + 6 H₂O(g)

2 NO(g) + O₂(g) → 2 NO₂(g)

3 NO₂(g) + H₂O(l) → 2 HNO₃(aq) + NO(g)

(b) Identify the element undergoing oxidation and the element undergoing reduction.

Textbook Question

The commercial production of nitric acid involves the following chemical reactions:

4 NH₃(g) + 5 O₂(g) → 4 NO(g) + 6 H₂O(g)

2 NO(g) + O₂(g) → 2 NO₂(g)

3 NO₂(g) + H₂O(l) → 2 HNO₃(aq) + NO(g)

(c) How many grams of ammonia must you start with to make 1000.0 L of a 0.150 M aqueous solution of nitric acid? Assume all the reactions give 100% yield.

Textbook Question

Consider the following reagents: zinc, copper, mercury (density 13.6 g/mL), silver nitrate solution, nitric acid solution. (a) Given a 500-mL Erlenmeyer flask and a balloon, can you combine two or more of the foregoing reagents to initiate a chemical reaction that will inflate the balloon? Write a balanced chemical equation to represent this process. What is the identity of the substance that inflates the balloon?

Textbook Question

Bronze is a solid solution of Cu(s) and Sn(s); solutions of metals like this that are solids are called alloys. There is a range of compositions over which the solution is considered a bronze. Bronzes are stronger and harder than either copper or tin alone. (b) Based on part (a), calculate the concentration of the solute metal in the alloy in units of molarity, assuming a density of 7.9 g/cm³.

Textbook Question

Bronze is a solid solution of Cu(s) and Sn(s); solutions of metals like this that are solids are called alloys. There is a range of compositions over which the solution is considered a bronze. Bronzes are stronger and harder than either copper or tin alone. (c) Suggest a reaction that you could do to remove all the tin from this bronze to leave a pure copper sample. Justify your reasoning.