Question

Arrange the following in increasing the amount of nitrogen in the fertilizers:
(A) Ammonium sulphate
(B) Ammonium nitrate
(C) Ammonium chloride
(D) Calcium ammonium nitrate

• A. (A), (B), (C), (D)
• B. (A), (C), (B), (D
• C. (B), (A), (D), (C)
• D. (A), (C), (D), (B)

Hint:

Memorize typical N\% values for common fertilizers to easily answer such order-based questions.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Approximate nitrogen content: Ammonium sulphate (21\%), Ammonium chloride (25\%), Calcium ammonium nitrate (26\%), Ammonium nitrate (33-34\%). Hence, the increasing order is: (A), (C), (D), (B).

Answer 2

Formula-based derivation: Nitrogen percentage can be estimated from a compound's formula as \( \%N = \frac{\text{mass of N atoms}}{\text{molar mass}} \times 100 \).
Ammonium sulphate, \( (\text{NH}_4)_2\text{SO}_4 \), molar mass about 132 g, contains 28 g of N, giving roughly 21 percent.
Ammonium chloride, \( \text{NH}_4\text{Cl} \), molar mass about 53.5 g, contains 14 g of N, giving roughly 25 percent.
Calcium ammonium nitrate blends ammonium nitrate with a calcium carbonate filler, which dilutes its nitrogen content to roughly 26 percent, marginally above plain ammonium chloride.
Ammonium nitrate, \( \text{NH}_4\text{NO}_3 \), molar mass about 80 g, contains 28 g of N from two nitrogen atoms, giving roughly 33 to 35 percent, the highest of the four.
Ranking these computed values gives the increasing order (A), (C), (D), (B).