Chemical Formulae and Oxidation Numbers

In general, when we refer to a chemical formula we mean the symbols for the atoms
present, along with the number of each type of atom. Strictly this is a molecular formula, or
empirical formula (depending on whether the structure is simple molecular or a giant
structure), and we should be aware that there are more detailed types of formula
(structural, displayed, skeletal etc.) also used.
We need a chemical formula for:
- any compound
- any polyatomic element e.g. H F Br O N I Cl
Otherwise we use just the element symbol (e.g. for metals, noble gases, and often for
carbon, sulphur, phosphorus)
Valency of atoms
We can use the idea of valency to help figure out the formulae of substances.
Definition: Valency is the number of electrons an atom involves in bonding.
In simple terms, the valency can be thought of as the number of bonds an atom (or group
of atoms) forms.
It doesnt matter what type of bonding the atoms use just the number of electrons
involved: e.g. Na loses 1 outer shell electron to form ionic bonds so its valency is 1. O
gains 2 electrons whether bonding covalently or forming oxide ions, so its valency is 2.
Carbon shares 4 electrons in covalent bonding, so it valency is 4. There is a simple
correlation between Group in the periodic table and valency, at least for the more common
elements, but there are many exceptions:
Group 1
Valency = 1
Group 5 (15) Valency = 3
Group 2
Valency = 2
Group 6 (16) Valency = 2
Group 3
Valency = 3
Group 7 (17) Valency = 1
Group 4
Valency = 4
Group 8 (18) Valency = 0
Valency of Ions
The charge on a simple ion can be predicted from its position in the periodic table, and the
charge corresponds to the valency. Metal atoms in Groups 1-3 lose their outer shell
electrons to form ions, so their valency is the same as the Group number, and the charge
on these ions is positive.
e.g. sodium atom [valency 1] loses 1 electron to make sodium ion Na +
aluminium atom [valency = 3] loses 3 electrons to make an Al 3+ ion
Non-metal atoms gain electrons to complete their outer shells. The valency is the same as
the number of electrons they gain, and the charge on these ions is negative.
e.g. oxygen atom [valency 2] gains 2 electrons to make oxide ion O 2chlorine atom [valency 1] gains 1 electron to make chloride ion Cl -

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Elements in the d-block do not have easily predicted valencies, and some have more than
one valency. You should know the charges (and hence valencies) of the following):
Zinc ions, Zn2+
Silver ions, Ag+

Valency = 2
Valency = 1

Compound ions
Valency is be associated with compound ions (ions containing more than one atom).
These have to be learnt!
hydroxide
OH- valency = 1
nitrate
NO3- valency = 1
carbonate
CO32 valency = 2
sulphate
SO42 valency = 2
ammonium NH4+ valency = 1
Using valency to write formulae
Write the valency under each element or ion, then swap and simplify if the numbers if they
will divide down. (The absence of a number implies 1.)
Application
CaCl2
H2S
Al2O3
CaO
SiO2

Ca = 2 Cl = 1 so CaCl2
H = 1 S = 2 so H2S
Al = 3 O = 2 so Al2O3
Ca = 2 O = 2 so Ca2O2 simplifies to CaO
Si = 4 O = 2 so Si2O4 simplifies to SiO2

The same rules apply to compound ions. Brackets are used if there is more than one of the
compound ion:
Application
Na2SO4
Mg(NO3)2
Al(OH)3
(NH4)2SO4

2 x Na [valency 1] needed for a sulphate [valency 2]

Mg [valency 2] requires 2 x nitrate [valency 1]
Al [Valency 3] requires 3 x hydroxide [valency 1]
2 x NH4 [valency 1] required for sulphate [valency 2]

Note: Al(OH)3 is NOT the same as AlOH3 which would imply 1 Al, 1 O and 3 H bonded
together, not 3 x hydroxide !
Check your understanding:
Use valency to work out the formulae of the three most common lab acids;
i) hydrochloric acid,
ii) sulphuric acid
iii) nitric acid.
These are compounds of hydrogen, with chloride, sulphate and nitrate respectively.

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Check your understanding:

Work out the formulae of the following using their valencies
iv) aluminium bromide
v) lithium sulphate
vi) potassium oxide
vii) copper oxide (the copper ion here is Cu2+)
viii) magnesium iodide
ix) barium carbonate
x) calcium phosphate (the phosphate ion is PO43-)
xi) barium hydroxide
xii) ammonium carbonate
xiii) aluminium sulphide
Negative Ion Naming
Recall that ide endings refer to simple negative ions e.g. nitride N 3-, sulphide S2- whereas
-ate endings refer to compound ions containing oxygen e.g. nitrate NO 3-, sulphate SO42Balancing Equations
At A-level we use symbol equations, and always ensure they are balanced. We also include
state symbols as a matter of course, if we know or can deduce the state:
(s)
solid
(l)
liquid
(g)
gas
(aq) aqueous
Water is always (l) we cant have a solution of water in water !
Balancing equations is essential because we never create or destroy atoms, only rearrange
the bonding during the course of a reaction to form new substances, but we should be
aware that charges in equations must balance as well as numbers of atoms.
1. Write the correct chemical formula of each substance, with the + signs and or
2. Add the state symbols
3. Work out the balancing numbers (properly called the stoichiometry) needed to get
the numbers of each type of atom, and the charges if any, to balance.
Check your understanding:
Balance the following equations and add state symbols:
xiv) HCl + Na2CO3 NaCl + H2O + CO2
xv)

HNO3 + Mg Mg(NO3)2 + H2

Write balanced equations for the following reactions (including state symbols)
xvi) Solutions of sodium sulphate and barium nitrate react to form a barium sulphate
precipitate and a sodium sulphate solution
xvii)

Zinc carbonate thermally decomposes when heated to produce zinc oxide and
carbon dioxide

Page 3

xviii)

ammonium dichromate, (NH4)2Cr2O7(s), decomposes when heated to produce

nitrogen, steam and solid chromium III oxide

Making your equations work harder: Ionic equations

Balanced symbol equations of the kind you have met so far have two drawbacks, both of
which are eliminated using ionic equations.
i)
They only tell you what the specific named substance do they are not
generalized in any way
ii)
They carry unnecessary information in the form of species that are not
involved in the reaction and hence make it more difficult to see the actual
chemistry that is happening
We can either write ionic equations directly (if we know what is happening), or we can work
them out starting with the full balanced symbol equations including state symbols. The
method for working them out is based on understanding that when a substance containing
ions is in solution, the ions are separate and independent of each other, not in any way
bonded together as they would have been in the solid state e.g. in a giant ionic lattice.
To work them out:

Write and balance the full equation including state symbols

Separate any substance that is aqueous (aq) into its individual ions if it has ions
Look for and cancel on both sides any ions that are unchanged (including state
symbols) on both sides. These are spectator ions and play no part in the reaction.
What you have left is the ionic equation. Check to see if the mole ratios can be
simplified by dividing down.

As a final check, remember that equations have to be balanced so that the same number
of atoms of each element appear on each side, but charges also have to be balanced. The
same total charge must appear on each side of the equation.
e.g. potassium iodide solution reacts with lead(II) nitrate solution to produce a yellow
precipitate of lead iodide, and leaving a solution of potassium nitrate.
Full equation:
Split into ions:

2KI(aq) + Pb(NO3)2(aq) PbI2(s) + 2KNO3(aq)

2K+(aq) + 2I-(aq) + Pb2+(aq) + 2NO3-(aq) PbI2(s) + 2K+(aq) + 2NO3-(aq)

Find spectators: 2K+(aq) + 2I-(aq) + Pb2+(aq) + 2NO3-(aq) PbI2(s) + 2K+(aq) + 2NO3-(aq)

Ionic equation:

2I-(aq) + Pb2+(aq) PbI2(s)

Note how the ionic equation deals with the two drawbacks. The spectator ions have been
removed showing just the reaction that actually takes place: that between the lead ions and
the iodide ions. Moreover while the original equation only told us that lead nitrate reacts
with potassium iodide, the ionic equation tells us that any solution containing lead ions will

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react with any solution containing iodide ions (e.g. lead ethanoate solution will react with
sodium iodide) in the same wat it is a more general equation.
Application
Sodium hydroxide is neutralized by dilute nitric acid. Use the method above to construct the
ionic equation for this reaction, and use it to explain why any acid can be neutralized by any
alkali.
Full equation:

HNO3(aq) + NaOH)aq) NaNO3(aq) + H2O(l)

Split into ions:

H+(aq) + NO3-(aq) + Na+(aq) + OH-(aq) Na+(aq) + NO3-(aq) + H2O(l)

Find spectators:

H+(aq) + NO3-(aq) + Na+(aq) + OH-(aq) Na+(aq) + NO3-(aq) + H2O(l)

Ionic equation:

H+(aq) + OH-(aq) H2O(l)

So any acid (source of H+ ions in solution) reacts with any alkali (source of OH - ions in
solution) to make water, neutralizing the acid/alkali.
Check your understanding:
Turn these balanced equations into ionic equations:
ixx)

Mg(s) + 2HCl(aq) MgCl2(aq) + H2(g)

xx)

Na2CO3(aq) + H2SO4(aq) Na2SO4(aq) + CO2(g) + H2O(l)

xxi)

Cu(s) + 2AgNO3(aq) 2Ag(s) + Cu(NO3)2(aq)

Empirical formula and Molecular Formulae

The chemical formulae we have been working with so far have given the actual number of
each type of atom present. We call these molecular formulae. Strictly, when we have a
substance which has a giant lattice structure we dont have molecules, so a molecular
formula is inappropriate. The best we can do for a giant lattice which extends over huge
and unknown distances on an atomic scale is give the ratios of the different atoms present.
Such a simplest-whole-number ratio of the different atoms present is an empirical
formula. Empirical formulae can also be given for molecules, by dividing all the numbers
of atoms by their highest common factor.
Examples:
Name:
Sodium chloride
Lithium oxide
Benzene

Structure:
ionic
ionic
simple mol

Empirical formula:
NaCl
Li2O
CH

Molecular formula:
C6H6

Page 5

Determining empirical formulae

The empirical formula can be determined by taking the masses or percentages by mass of
each different type of atom present in a compound (from elemental analysis data),
converting these to moles, then comparing the mole ratios.
Once the empirical formula is known, one additional piece of information allows a molecular
formula to be determined: the relative formula mass: M r. You need to find the scaling
factor by which the mass of the atoms in the empirical formula needs to be multiplied to get
to the relative formula mass. This scaling factor is then applied to the atoms in the
empirical formula to find the molecular formula.
Application
A compound produced in the cracking of crude oil fractions is found to contain 85.7%
carbon and 14.3% hydrogen. Determine its empirical formula.
% by mass
Ar
moles
ratio

C
85.7
12
7.14
1

H
14.3
1
14.3
2

(divide mass or %mass by Ar)

(divide both by smallest: 7.14)

Answer: The empirical formula is CH2

Using mass spectrometry the relative formula mass is found to be 42. Determine the
molecular formula of the compound.
The atoms in the empirical formula have a combined mass of 12+1+1 = 14
The scaling factor is 42 14 = 3
Answer: the molecular formula is C3H6
Oxidation Numbers
Many reactions involve oxidation and reduction and it is not always easy to tell exactly what
has been oxidized and what has been reduced. A "simple" definition of oxygen being added
or removed isn't adequate since many redox reactions don't involve oxygen.
Recall from electrolysis the idea that:
O xidation
I s
L oss of electrons
R eduction
I s
G ain of electrons

Page 6

We can use the loss or gain of electrons to tell us what is being oxidized and what is being
reduced in a reaction. We use a concept called OXIDATION NUMBER to help us do this.
Oxidation numbers also can help us to work out chemical formulae correctly.
Changes in oxidation number tell us what has been oxidized or reduced:
OXIDATION is an INCREASE in oxidation number, by LOSING ELECTRONS
REDUCTION is a DECREASE in oxidation number, by GAINING ELECTRONS
Rules to assign oxidation numbers (in priority order):
1)
Uncombined elements have oxidation number 0 e.g. H2, Cl2 etc.
2)

Group 1 in a compound: oxidation number = +1,

Group 2 in a compound: oxidation number = +2
Group 3 in a compound: oxidation number = +3

3)

The oxidation number of fluorine is always -1

4)

The oxidation number of hydrogen is usually +1, except where a previous rule
applies, e.g. in metal hydrides such as NaH the oxidation number of H is -1 because
the Na has to be +1 according to Rule 2).

5)

The oxidation number of oxygen is usually -2, except where a previous rule applies,
e.g. in F2O it is +2 because the F must be -1 according to rule 3. In peroxides such
as H2O2 the O must be -1 because the H is +1 according to Rule 4.

6)

The oxidation number of chlorine is usually -1 except where previous rule applies
e.g. in sodium chlorate(I) NaClO where Cl must be +1 because Na is +1 and O is -2
according to the earlier rules.

Stock Notation
In the previous example we saw the use of a roman numeral in brackets. This is used to
specify the oxidation number for an element that can have multiple oxidation numbers.
Sodium chlorate(I)
Sodium chorate(III)
Sodium chromate(VI)
Iron(II) hydroxide

means the oxidation number of the chlorine is +1

means the oxidation number of the chlorine is +3
means the oxidation number of chromium is +6
means the oxidation number of the iron is +2

Given these rules, we can assign oxidation numbers to some of the atoms in a chemical
formula, and with some further rules we can work out the other oxidation numbers:
Rules to work out oxidation numbers:
7) The oxidation numbers of the atoms in any compound add up to 0
e.g. in KI K has oxidation number +1 so I has oxidation number -1

Page 7

8) Oxidation numbers of the atoms in any compound ion add up to the charge on the ion
e.g. in NH4+ H has oxidation number +1 and the sum of the oxidation numbers
must be +1 (the charge on the ion) so N must have oxidation number -3.
Application:
NaCl
MgCl2
+1 -1
+2 -1
-1
ClO3+5 -2
-2
-2
= -1

ICl3
+3 -1
-1
-1

CO2
+4 -2
-2

S2Cl2
+1 -1
+1 -1

MnO4+7 -2
-2
-2
-2
= -1

Cr2O72+6 -2
+6 -2
-2
-2
-2
-2
-2
= -2

KClO
+1 +1 -2

Check your understanding:

xxii) Write the formula of chromium(III) oxide and copper(I) oxide
xxiii) Name these two compounds:

NaNO2

NaNO3

Now we can apply this idea to redox reactions:

write a balanced symbol equation
indicate the oxidation numbers of each element present,
draw arrows to show what has been oxidized and what has been reduced,
remembering that when something is oxidized its oxidation number increases and
when something is reduced its oxidation number decreases
e.g.

Mg + 2 HCl MgCl2 + H2
0
+1 -1
+2 -1
0
oxidation

reduction

Note that not every reaction shows a change in oxidation state, or involves oxidation or
reduction !

Page 8

Check your understanding:

Work out if these reactions are redox, and if so what has been oxidized and what has been
reduced:
xxiv)
xxv)
xxvi)
xxvii)

2 Fe(s) + 3 Cl2(g) 2 FeCl3(s) (iron III chloride)

CuO(s) + H2(g) Cu(s) + H2O(g)
2 Br-(aq) + Cl2(g) Br2(aq) + 2Cl-(aq)
HCl (aq) + NaOH(aq) NaCl(aq) + H2O(l)

Oxidising Agents and Reducing Agents

A substance which gains electrons readily may remove an electron from another
substance, causing it to be oxidized. We call a substance which does this an oxidizing
agent. (Note that by gaining the electron it gets reduced itself in the reaction).
Conversely a substance which loses electrons readily can reduce something else it is a
reducing agent. (It will get oxidized in the reaction)
Note: the oxidizing or reducing agent is the WHOLE SUBSTANCE not just one atom in a
substance, even though only one atom may have changed its oxidation number.
e.g.

Fe(s) + Cl2(g)
0
0

FeCl3(s)
+3 -1(x3)

Iron is OXIDISED from 0 to +3

So the OXIDISING AGENT is the Cl2
e.g.
Zinc metal is a good reducing agent, and can cause other substances to be reduced while
it is oxidized to zinc ions:
Zn(s)
0 (grey)

Zn2+(aq)
+2 (colourless)

Being a transition metal, vanadium has variable oxidation number. It forms a variety of ions
with different oxidation states and different colours. Starting with the highest oxidation
number ion we can reduce these using metallic zinc, and see the progressive colour
changes:
Vanadium ion in solution Oxidation number of V
VO2+(aq)
+5
+
2+
mixture of VO2 (aq) and VO (aq)
VO2+(aq)
+4
3+
V (aq)
+3
V2+(aq)
+2

Colour
yellow
green
blue
green
violet

Page 9

The manganate(VII) - also called permanganate - ion is a good oxidising agent and can
reverse these changes. The intense colour of the permanganate disappears because the
permanganate ion is being reduced to Mn 3+(aq). The vanadium ions are progressively
oxidized, reversing the colour changes above.
MnO4-(aq)

+7 (intense purple)

Mn3+(aq)
+3 (pale pink)

The manganate(VII) ion is a good example of where an oxidation number is used because
the name "manganate" is ambiguous. How many oxygen atoms does the ion contain ?
What is its charge ? We can work it out if we know that oxidation state of the Mn is +7 in
this case.
Check your understanding:
"nitrate" could mean NO3- or NO2- ions
"chlorate" could mean ClO2- or ClO3- or ClO4- ions
xxviii) Assign oxidation numbers to the elements in each of these five ions, and use these
to give the ions their full names (including roman numerals).
Hydrated and anhydrous crystals
Crystals of hydrated ionic substances contain water as part of the crystal structure. For
example, green iron(II) sulphate crystals contain seven water molecules for each formula
unit of iron sulphate. We call this water of crystallization, denoting it in the formula as
shown: FeSO4.7H2O
It is important that we take this into account when weighing or calculating the relative
formula mass for any hydrated substance. We need to add the mass of the water into M r !
Look at the bottles when you are weighing out salts, and check the formula and M r given on
the bottle.
e.g. iron(II) sulphate crystals, FeSO4.7H2O
Mr = 55.8 + 32.1 + (4x16) + (7 x 18) = 277.9
Check your understanding:
xxix) Work out the relative formula mass of:
sodium carbonate crystals, Na2CO3.10H2O
manganese(II) chloride crystals, MnCl2.4H2O
xxx)

Calculate the concentration in mol dm-3 of a solution which contains 6.95g of

hydrated iron(II) sulphate (FeSO4.7H2O) in 250 cm3 of solution

When hydrated crystals are heated, some or all of the water is driven off. If all the water is
driven off, they become anhydrous. This is often accompanied by a colour change
anhydrous iron(II) sulphate is grey.
We may be asked to work out the formula for hydrated crystals given % composition data.
We do this by converting the % to a mole ratio (divide by the Ar or Mr for each % given), just
like we did with percentage composition calculations already:

Page 10

Application
A sample of sodium sulphate contains 14.28% sodium ions, 29.84% sulphate ions and
55.88% of water, by mass. Determine the formula of the crystals.
%
Mr
moles
ratio

Na+
14.28
23.0
0.62
2

SO4229.84
96.1
0.31
1

H2O
55.88
18
3.10
10
(dividing all by 0.31)

So the formula of the crystals will be Na2SO4.10H2O

We also need to be able to work out how much water crystals contain. We can do this using
the mass of hydrated and anhydrous crystals (i.e. the mass loss on heating to dehydrate
the crystals). We heat to constant mass (i.e. until the mass does not change with further
heating) to ensure that all of the water of crystallization as been removed.
Application
The mass of a sample of cobalt chloride CoCl2.nH2O is 5.00g. After heating to remove the
water of crystallization the mass of the sample was 2.73g. Work out how many water
molecules are represented by n.
Mr of anhydrous cobalt chloride = 129.9
=> moles of anhydrous cobalt chloride = mass / Mr = 2.73 / 129.9 = 0.021
Mass of water in these crystals (by mass loss) = 5.00 2.73 = 2.27g
=> moles of water in these crystals = 2.27 / 18 = 0.126
Moles of water per mole of anhydrous cobalt chloride = 0.126 / 0.021 = 6
Formula is CoCl2.6H2O
Identifying the salt from dehydration data
A different form of this type of question involves a salt of an unknown metal, which is to be
identified from the mass change on dehydration.
Application (using the same example as before):
The mass of a sample of a chloride salt XCl2.6H2O is 5.00g. After heating to remove the
water of crystallization the mass of the sample was 2.73g.
mass (g)
Mr
moles
mole ratio

XCl2
2.73
?
0.1261/6 = 0.02102
1
:

H2O
5.00 2.73 = 2.27
18
0.1261
moles = mass/Mr
6
from formula of hydrated salt

Page 11

Mr of XCl2 = mass of XCl2 / moles of XCl2 = 2.73/0.02102 = 129.9

Ar of X = 129.9 (2 x 35.5) = 58.9
X = cobalt
Partial dehydration
By heating gently it is possible to remove some, but not all of, the water of crystallisation.
Similarly, it is possible for some hydrated substances to take in more water e.g. from the
atmosphere. (we call such substances deliquescent). Given appropriate data it is possible
to calculate the change in number of waters of crystallisation:
Application
At room temperature hydrated magnesium chloride has the formula MgCl 2.6H2O and a
molar mass of 203.3 gmol-1. On heating above 181C, some of the water of crystallisation is
lost.
A 6.10g sample of MgCl2.6H2O was heated in this way and the mass of the compound after
heating was found to be 5.02g. Determine the formula of the compound after heating.
Mass of water lost = 6.10 5.02 = 1.08g
Moles of water lost = 1.08/18 = 0.06
Mass of MgCl2.6H2O heated = 6.10
Moles of MgCl2.6H2O heated = 6.10/203.3 = 0.03
So the mole ratio is 2 moles of water lost from every 1 mole of MgCl 2.6H2O, meaning
that the formula of the compound after heating is: MgCl2.4H2O

Page 12

Answers to "Check your understanding" questions:

i) hydrochloric acid
ii) sulphuric acid
iii) nitric acid

HCl
H2SO4
HNO3

iv) aluminium bromide

v) lithium sulphate
vi) potassium oxide
vii) copper II oxide
viii) magnesium iodide
ix) barium carbonate
x) calcium hydrogencarbonate
xi) iron II hydroxide
iron III hydroxide
xii) ammonium carbonate
xiii) aluminium sulphide

AlBr3
Li2SO4
K2O
CuO
MgI2
BaCO3
Ca(HCO3)2
Fe(OH)2,
Fe(OH)3
(NH4)2CO3
Al2S3

xiv)
xv)

2HCl(aq) + Na2CO3(s) 2NaCl(aq) + H2O(l) + CO2(g)

2HNO3(aq) + Mg(s) Mg(NO3)2(aq) + H2(g)

xvi)
xvii)
xviii)

Na2SO4(aq) + Ba(NO3)2(aq) 2NaNO3(aq) + BaSO4(s)

ZnCO3(s) ZnO(s) + CO2(g)
(NH4)2Cr2O7(s) N2(g) + 4H2O(g) + Cr2O3(s)

ixx)

Mg(s) + 2H+(aq) Mg2+(aq) + H2(g)

xx)

CO32-(aq) + 2H+(aq) CO2(g) + H2O(l)

xxi)

Cu(s) + 2Ag+(aq) 2Ag(s) + Cu2+(aq)

xxii)
xxiii)

Cr2O3
sodium nitrate(III)

xxiv) 2 Fe(s) + 3 Cl2(g)

0
0

xxv)

2 FeCl3(s)
+3 -1
-1
-1

CuO(s) + H2(g) Cu(s) + H2O(g)

+2 -2
0
0
+1 -2
+1

xxvi) 2 Br-(aq) + Cl2(g) Br2(aq) + 2Cl-(aq)

Cu2O
sodium nitrate(V)
REDOX
iron has been oxidized to iron III
chlorine has been reduced to chloride
REDOX
copper II has been reduced to copper
hydrogen has been oxidised
REDOX

Page 13

-1

-1

xxvii) HCl (aq) + NaOH(aq) NaCl(aq) + H2O(l)

+1 -1
+1 -2 +1
+1 -1 +1 -2
+1

bromide ions are oxidized to bromine

chlorine is reduced to chloride ions
NOT REDOX

xxviii) Assign oxidation numbers to the elements in each of these five ions, and use these
to give the ions their full names (including roman numerals).
NO3NO2ClO2ClO3ClO4-

+5 -2 -2 -2
+3 -2 -2
+3 -2 -2
+5 -2 -2 -2
+7 -2 -2 -2 -2

nitrate(V)
nitrate(III)
chlorate(III)
chlorate(V)
chlorate(VII)

Hydrated and Anhydrous substances

xxix) sodium carbonate crystals, Na2CO3.10H2O
manganese(II) chloride crystals, MnCl2.4H2O
xxx)

Mr =
Mr =

286.0
197.9

Mr of FeSO4.7H2O = 55.8 + 32.1 + (16 x 4) + (7 x 18) = 277.9

mol of iron sulphate = mass / RFM = 6.95 / 277.9 = 0.0250
conc = mol of iron sulphate / volume (in dm 3) = 0.025 / (250/1000) = 0.100 mol dm-3

Page 14