Chemical analysis show that hemoglobin contains 0.34 percent Fe by mass. What is the minimum possible molar mass of hemoglobin? The actual molar mass of hemoglobin is four times this minimum value. What conclusion can you draw from these data?
If hemoglobin is 0.34% Fe, that means 100 g hemoglobin contains 0.34 g Fe. The minimum molar mass will contain 1 mole Fe so 100 x (55.85/0.34) = about 16,000 but you need to do it more accurately.
If the actual molar mass is 4x that value, that means the molar mass is 4 x the empirical mass or the molecular formula is (empirical formula)4.
To find the minimum possible molar mass of hemoglobin, we need to calculate the molar mass of iron (Fe). The molar mass of Fe is approximately 55.85 g/mol.
We are given that hemoglobin contains 0.34% iron by mass. This means that 0.34 g of iron is present in every 100 g of hemoglobin.
To convert this mass of iron to moles, we divide it by the molar mass of Fe:
0.34 g / 55.85 g/mol = 0.00608 mol
Now, to find the minimum possible molar mass of hemoglobin, we assume that the mass of iron is the only contributing factor to its molar mass. Therefore, the molar mass of hemoglobin would be equal to the molar mass of iron: 55.85 g/mol.
However, the actual molar mass of hemoglobin is stated to be four times this minimum value. Therefore, the actual molar mass of hemoglobin is 4 times 55.85 g/mol which equals 223.4 g/mol.
From these data, we can conclude that hemoglobin contains 0.34% iron by mass and its actual molar mass is four times the minimum molar mass value.
To find the minimum possible molar mass of hemoglobin, we'll start with the given composition of 0.34 percent Fe by mass.
Step 1: Calculate the mass of Fe in 100 grams of hemoglobin.
Since hemoglobin contains 0.34 percent Fe by mass, that means in 100 grams of hemoglobin, there would be 0.34 grams of Fe.
Step 2: Determine the number of moles of Fe.
To calculate the number of moles, we divide the mass of Fe by its molar mass. The molar mass of Fe is 55.845 g/mol.
Number of moles of Fe = mass of Fe / molar mass of Fe = 0.34 g / 55.845 g/mol
Now, to find the minimum possible molar mass of hemoglobin, we need to determine the mass of one mole of hemoglobin using the molar ratio between Fe and hemoglobin.
Step 3: Apply the molar ratio to calculate the minimum possible molar mass of hemoglobin.
According to the given information, the actual molar mass of hemoglobin is four times the minimum value. So, the minimum molar mass of hemoglobin can be determined by dividing the mass of Fe by the number of moles of Fe.
Minimum possible molar mass of hemoglobin = mass of Fe / number of moles of Fe
Finally, multiply the minimum possible molar mass by four to determine the actual molar mass of hemoglobin.
Now, to draw a conclusion from this data:
Since the actual molar mass of hemoglobin is four times the minimum possible value, we can say that hemoglobin contains four iron atoms per molecule on average. This suggests that each hemoglobin molecule contains four iron ions, which is consistent with the structure and function of hemoglobin, where iron is an essential component for binding and transporting oxygen in red blood cells.