To understand molarity, it's vital first to grasp the concept of molar mass. Molar mass is the mass of one mole of a substance. For molecular compounds like glucose, it's derived from summing the atomic masses of all atoms in the molecule. Glucose has the formula \(\mathrm{C}_{6} \mathrm{H}_{12} \mathrm{O}_{6}\). You calculate its molar mass by adding together the atomic masses of each element it contains:
- Carbon (C): Approximately \(12\, \mathrm{g/mol}\)
- Hydrogen (H): \(1\, \mathrm{g/mol}\)
- Oxygen (O): \(16\, \mathrm{g/mol}\)
Multiply these atomic masses by their respective quantities in glucose:
- Carbon: \(6 \times 12 = 72\)
- Hydrogen: \(12 \times 1 = 12\)
- Oxygen: \(6 \times 16 = 96\)
Finally, add these values: \(72 + 12 + 96 = 180\, \mathrm{g/mol}\). Therefore, glucose has a molar mass of \(180\, \mathrm{g/mol}\). This information is crucial for converting mass into moles, which is a step in finding molarity.