Citric acid is one component of some soft drinks. Suppose that 8 L of solution are made from 0.24 g of citric acid, C6H8O7. What is the molarity of citric acid in the solution?

The correct answer is 0.15 × 10⁻³ M.

Explanation:

C₆H₈O₇ is the molecular formula of citric acid. The mass of the one mole of the substance that comprise Avogadro's no of molecules is termed as the molar mass of the substance.  

The molar mass of the citric acid (C₆H₈O₇) will be,  

6 × atomic mass of carbon + 8 × atomic mass of hydrogen + 7 × atomic mass of oxygen = 6×12 + 8×1 + 7×16 = 192. Thus, the molar mass of citric acid is 192 g/mol.  

The value of the solution given in the question is 8 L.  

The mass of citric acid given is 0.24 g or 240 mg, which can also be written as 240/1000 g or 240 × 10⁻³ g.  

The number of moles can be calculated by using the formula = mass / molar mass. Thus, by putting the values we get,  

= 240 × 10⁻³ g / 192 g/mol

= 1.25 × 10⁻³ mol

The number of moles of the solute present in the 1 liter of the solution is termed as the molarity of the solution. The formula of molarity or M is,  

= no of moles of solute / volume of solution in L

Now putting the values we get,  

= 1.25 × 10⁻³ mol / 8 L

= 0.156 × 10⁻³ M

Hence, the molarity of citric acid in the given solution is 0.15 × 10⁻³ M