If you assume that the oil consists of tripalmitin which is

If you assume that the oil consists of tripalmitin which is a triglyceride that has palmitic acid in each of the three ester positions on the triacylglycerol, estimate the mass of methyl palmitate that you would obtain by converting 60grams of tripalmitin to methyl palmitate(n=14). Would the mass of the product be greater than less than or the same as the mass of tripalmitin that you started with?

Solution

Methyl palmitate has the molecular formula C₁₇H₃₄O₂ which has molecular weight 270.

Tripalmitin has C₅₁H₉₈O₆ and has has molecular weight 807.

The fraction of tripalmitin and Methyl palmitate molecular weight

807/270 = 2.99

So 60 grams of tripalmitin would yield 60/2.99 = 20.07 g of Methyl palmitate