What is the mass of magnesium in 20 grams of magnesium carbonate? a 11.4g b 3.81g c 7.62g d 2.86g e 5.77g

## Step 1<br />The problem involves finding the mass of magnesium in a given mass of magnesium carbonate. To do this, we first need to calculate the molar mass of magnesium carbonate (MgCO3). The molar mass is the sum of the molar masses of all the atoms in the compound. The molar mass of magnesium (Mg) is approximately 24.305 g/mol, carbon (C) is approximately 12.01 g/mol, and oxygen (O) is approximately 16.00 g/mol. <br /><br />## Step 2<br />The molar mass of magnesium carbonate is calculated as follows:<br />### \(MgCO3 = 24.305 g/mol (Mg) + 12.01 g/mol (C) + 3*16.00 g/mol (O) = 84.315 g/mol\)<br /><br />## Step 3<br />Next, we calculate the proportion of magnesium in magnesium carbonate. This is done by dividing the molar mass of magnesium by the molar mass of magnesium carbonate.<br />### \(Proportion = \frac{24.305 g/mol (Mg)}{84.315 g/mol (MgCO3)} = 0.2886\)<br /><br />## Step 4<br />Finally, we find the mass of magnesium in 20 grams of magnesium carbonate by multiplying the proportion of magnesium by the given mass of magnesium carbonate.<br />### \(Mass = Proportion * Given Mass = 0.2886 * 20 g = 5.77 g\)