In Carius method, of an organic compound gave of barium sulphate, find percentage of sulphur (molar mass ). Molar mass of barium sulphate is .
- A
- B
- C
- D
In Carius method, of an organic compound gave of barium sulphate, find percentage of sulphur (molar mass ). Molar mass of barium sulphate is .
Correct answer:C
Standard Method
Given: Mass of the organic compound = , mass of barium sulphate formed = , atomic mass of sulphur = , molar mass of barium sulphate = .
Find: Percentage of sulphur in the organic compound.
In Carius method, sulphur present in the organic compound is converted into barium sulphate, , and its mass is used to calculate the sulphur content.
Using stoichiometry,
Substituting the given values,
Now,
and
Therefore,
Hence, the percentage of sulphur is approximately . The correct option is C.
Direct Formula Recall
Given: Mass of compound = , mass of = .
Find: Percentage of sulphur.
For Carius method, directly use the relation between sulphur and :
So,
This shortcut works because one mole of contains exactly one mole of sulphur. Therefore, the correct option is C.
Using the molar mass of incorrectly is a common mistake. The sulphur mass must be obtained from the ratio , not by taking the full mass of the precipitate as sulphur. Always convert precipitate mass to sulphur mass through stoichiometry.
Some students divide by the wrong sample mass or forget the factor of for percentage. The mass in the denominator must be the mass of the original organic compound, , and the final fraction must be multiplied by .
Another mistake is assuming the answer should match the precipitate percentage directly. The precipitate is , not pure sulphur, so the percentage of sulphur must be smaller than the percentage based on precipitate mass alone. Always isolate only the sulphur contribution.
Get unlimited AI-adaptive practice, mastery tracking, and an AI tutor that explains every step — free to start.