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Percent copper in this copper-zinc alloy?

I'm just..confused...

The density of a material made up of two or more different substances will be a weighted average of the substances that make it up. (what is a weighted average?) Suppose you have a block of copper-zinc alloy that has a density of 7.76 g/cm^3. Calculate the percent copper in the alloy. (density of copper = 8.92 g/cm^3 ; density of zinc = 7.16 g/cm^3)

I'm just not sure what to do. Since copper is more dense than zinc, I'm assuming that there is more copper in this alloy than zinc, I just don't know how to calculate the exact percentage.

Any pointers are appreciated! Thanks!

1 Answer

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  • BII
    Lv 7
    8 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    a weighted average: in proportion to the amount present; see the answer.

    Let fraction of Cu be x, then the fraction of Zn = 1-x Since it is the weighted average we have

    8.92x + 7.16(1-x) = 7.76

    8.92x + 7.16 - 7.16x = 7.76

    1.76x = 7.76 - 7.16 = 0.60

    x = 0.60/1.76 = 0.341 or 34.1% Cu

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