Turquoise has the following chemical formula: \(\mathrm{CuAl}_{6}\left(\mathrm{PO}_{4}\right)_{4}(\mathrm{OH})_{8}\). \(4 \mathrm{H}_{2} \mathrm{O} .\) Calculate the mass percent of each element in turquoise.

Molecular weight calculation is an essential step in understanding a compound's composition. It involves summing the atomic weights of each element in a compound multiplied by their respective number of atoms. For instance, turquoise with the formula \(\mathrm{CuAl}_{6}(\mathrm{PO}_{4})_{4}(\mathrm{OH})_{8}\cdot 4\mathrm{H}_{2}\mathrm{O}\) has a complex structure. We begin by finding the individual atomic weights: copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), phosphorus (P), oxygen (O), and hydrogen (H). These are standard values found on the periodic table.

In practice, the calculation is a matter of multiplicative distribution—each element's atomic weight is multiplied by its frequency in the chemical formula. Finally, all values are summed to provide the molecular weight of the compound in grams per mole (g/mol). This figure serves as a cornerstone for various calculations in chemistry, including stoichiometry and percentage composition.

Stoichiometry is the quantitative relationship between reactants and products in a chemical reaction. It boils down to the conservation of mass and the concept of the mole. To apply stoichiometry to a problem, one must first understand the mole concept, which relates atomic weights on the microscopic scale to measurable quantities on the macroscopic scale. With stoichiometry, we use the balanced chemical equation and conversion factors, known as molar ratios, to calculate the amount of reactants consumed or products formed.

For substances such as turquoise, stoichiometry helps in determining the exact amounts of elements that compose the mineral. It's crucial for accurately calculating the molecular weight as discussed earlier. Equipped with this knowledge, we relate the amount of each element to the overall mass, which leads us to determine the percentage composition of the compound.

Percentage composition informs us about the relative mass of each element in a compound. After you have the molecular weight, you find the mass of each element independently—by recognizing the number of atoms of that element in the formula and multiplying by the atomic weight—and then calculate what proportion of the total mass they represent.

Expressing these proportions as percentages gives the percentage composition. For our turquoise sample, we first calculate the mass ratios, and then by multiplying by 100, we obtain the mass percent of each element. This information has practical significance; for example, it can be used to infer the purity of a substance, to identify unknown substances, and to understand the properties of the compound. Understanding the steps involved in deriving these percentages solidifies the concept for students who might struggle with the abstraction of stoichiometric calculations.