A can of diet soda contains 180 mg of the low-calorie sugar substitute aspartame (C14H18N2O5). How many molecules of aspartame are in the can of soda? (LO 3.4) (a) 3.7 * 10^23 (b) 3.7 * 10^20 (c) 3.2 * 10^25 (d) 1.2 * 10^22

Molar mass is the mass of one mole of a substance, typically expressed in grams per mole (g/mol). For aspartame (C14H18N2O5), the molar mass can be calculated by summing the atomic masses of all the atoms in its molecular formula. This value is essential for converting between grams of a substance and moles, which is necessary for determining the number of molecules.

Avogadro's number, approximately 6.022 x 10^23, is the number of atoms, ions, or molecules in one mole of a substance. This constant allows chemists to relate the macroscopic scale of substances (grams) to the microscopic scale (individual molecules). In this problem, it is used to convert the number of moles of aspartame into the actual number of molecules present in the soda.

Stoichiometry is the branch of chemistry that deals with the quantitative relationships between the reactants and products in a chemical reaction. It involves using balanced chemical equations to calculate the amounts of substances consumed and produced. In this context, stoichiometry helps in determining how many molecules of aspartame correspond to the given mass in the can of soda, facilitating the conversion from grams to molecules.