Gunpowder is a mixture of potassium nitrate, sulfur and carbon in the proportion by mass of 6:1:1 (KNO3:S:C). A typical rifle shell contains 3.0g of gunpowder. How many moles of each component are there in our sample of gunpowder?

divide 3 g by 8.

KNO3: 6/8* 3 grams divide by molmass KNO3

S : 1/8 * 3 grams.
and so on.

To determine the number of moles of each component in the gunpowder sample, we first need to calculate the molar masses of potassium nitrate (KNO3), sulfur (S), and carbon (C).

The molar mass is the mass of one mole of a substance and is expressed in grams per mole (g/mol). Here are the molar masses for each element:

- Potassium (K): 39.10 g/mol
- Nitrogen (N): 14.01 g/mol
- Oxygen (O): 16.00 g/mol
- Sulfur (S): 32.07 g/mol
- Carbon (C): 12.01 g/mol

Now, let's calculate the molar mass of potassium nitrate (KNO3):

Molar mass of KNO3 = (molar mass of K) + (molar mass of N) + (3 × molar mass of O)
= (39.10 g/mol) + (14.01 g/mol) + (3 × 16.00 g/mol)
= 39.10 g/mol + 14.01 g/mol + 48.00 g/mol
= 101.11 g/mol

Next, we can calculate the number of moles of each component in the gunpowder sample using the given mass (3.0 g) and proportion by mass (6:1:1) of the components:

First, let's determine the mass of each component:

Mass of potassium nitrate (KNO3) = (6/8) × 3.0 g
= 0.75 × 3.0 g
= 2.25 g

Mass of sulfur (S) = (1/8) × 3.0 g
= 0.125 × 3.0 g
= 0.375 g

Mass of carbon (C) = (1/8) × 3.0 g
= 0.125 × 3.0 g
= 0.375 g

Now, let's calculate the number of moles of each component:

Number of moles of potassium nitrate (KNO3) = (mass of KNO3) / (molar mass of KNO3)
= 2.25 g / 101.11 g/mol

Number of moles of sulfur (S) = (mass of S) / (molar mass of S)
= 0.375 g / 32.07 g/mol

Number of moles of carbon (C) = (mass of C) / (molar mass of C)
= 0.375 g / 12.01 g/mol

After performing the calculations, you will find the number of moles of each component in the given sample of gunpowder.