The mole is the unit for amount of substance.

The molar mass is the relative formula mass of a substance in

grams (measured in g/mol). Mass is conserved in chemical reactions, allowing the mass of a reactant or product
to be calculated if the masses of the other substances in the reaction are known.

Molar mass
Relative formula mass, Mr
To find the relative formula mass (or Mr) of a substance, you add together the relative atomic mass for all the
atoms shown in its chemical formula.
Remember that the values for relative atomic masses (Ar) are given in the periodic table. So, although it helps to
learn some of the common values, you do not have to do this.

Example 1
What is the relative formula mass of water, H2O?
(Ar of H = 1, Ar of O = 16)
Mr of H2O = 1 + 1 + 16 = 18

Example 2
What is the relative formula mass of calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2?
(Ar of Ca = 40, Ar of O = 16, Ar of H = 1)
Mr of Ca(OH)2 = 40 + 16 + 1 + 16 + 1 = 74

The mole
The unit for amount of substance is called the mole, shown as mol. One mole of atoms, ions or molecules is
around 6 1023 (6 followed by 23 zeroes). This is the same number as the number of carbon atoms in 12 g of
carbon.

Molar mass
The molar mass of a substance is its relative formula mass in grams. The unit for molar mass is g/mol. For
example:

the Mr of water is 18, so its molar mass is 18 g/mol

the Mr of calcium hydroxide is 74, so its molar mass is 74 g/mol

Remember: work out the relative formula mass of the substance in the question first, then give this number as
g/mol for its molar mass.

Conservation of mass
Mass is never lost or gained in chemical reactions. We say that mass is always conserved. In other words, the
total mass of products at the end of the reaction is equal to the total mass of the reactants at the beginning.
This principle of conservation of mass allows you to work out the mass of a substance in a reaction, if the
masses of the other substances are known. The two common types of chemical reaction used to show this are:

reactions where gas or water are lost during heating - such as the thermal decomposition of calcium
carbonate to make calcium oxide and carbon dioxide
reactions where a gas is gained during the reaction - such as heating magnesium in air to make
magnesium oxide

Reacting masses and ratios

If you are given information about reacting masses, you should be able to calculate other reacting masses using
the idea of ratios.

Example 1
Calcium carbonate decomposes to form calcium oxide and carbon dioxide when it is heated:
calcium carbonatecalcium oxide+carbon dioxide
50 g

28 g

22 g

What mass of carbon dioxide is made from 100 g of calcium carbonate?

mass of carbon dioxide
= 100/50 22

= 2/1 22/1

= 2 x 22 = 44 g
Note that the amount of calcium carbonate in the question (100g) is double (two times) that of the example
(50g).
Note that the mass of carbon dioxide made is double the original mass.

Example 2
When it is heated in air, magnesium reacts with oxygen to form magnesium oxide.
magnesium+oxygenmagnesium oxide
48 g

32 g

80 g

What mass of oxygen is needed to make 20 g of magnesium oxide?

Note that the amount of magnesium oxide in the question (20g) is a quarter that of the example.
mass of oxygen
= 20/80 32

= 1/4 32/1

= 20/80 32
Note that the desired mass of magnesium oxide needed is a quarter of the original mass.

Moles and molar mass Higher tier

This equation shows how molar mass, number of moles and mass are related:
number of moles = mass molar mass
This can be rearranged to find the mass if the number of moles and molar mass are known, or to find the molar
mass if the mass and number of moles are known.
The triangle diagram below may help you with this.

Mass triangle

Finding the number of moles

Example

What is the number of moles of carbon dioxide molecules in 22 g of CO2?

Ar of C = 12, Ar of O = 16
The relative formula mass Mr of carbon dioxide = 12 + 16 + 16 = 44
This means that the molar mass of carbon dioxide = 44 g/mol
number of moles = 22 44 = 0.5 mol

Finding the mass

Example

What is the mass of 2 mol of carbon dioxide?

mass = number of moles molar mass = 2 44 = 88 g

Finding the molar mass

Example

10 mol of carbon dioxide has a mass of 440 g. What is the molar mass of carbon dioxide?
molar mass = mass number of moles = 440 10 = 44 g/mol

Reacting masses
Relative atomic mass
The relative atomic mass (or Ar) of an element is defined as the average mass of an atom of the element
compared to 1/12th the mass of an atom of carbon-12, 12C.
The Ar of carbon-12 is defined as 12 exactly.

Reacting masses and ratios

You should be able to calculate the mass of a product or reactant using the idea of moles, a balanced equation
and relevant Ar values.

Example
Sulfuric acid and sodium hydroxide react together to make sodium sulfate and water:
H2SO4 + 2NaOH Na2SO4 + 2H2O
What mass of sodium sulfate is made when 20 g of sodium hydroxide reacts with excess sulfuric acid? (Ar of
H = 1, Ar of O = 16, Ar of Na = 23, Ar of S = 32)
Mr of NaOH = 23 + 16 + 1 = 40
Mr of Na2SO4 = 23 + 23 + 32 + 16 + 16 + 16 + 16 = 142
So molar mass of NaOH is 40 g/mol and molar mass of Na2SO4 is 142 g/mol
Number of moles of NaOH = mass molar mass = 20 40 = 0.5 mol
From the equation, 2 mol of NaOH reacts with 1 mol of Na2SO4, so 0.5 mol of NaOH will react with 0.25 mol
of Na2SO4.
mass of Na2SO4 = moles molar mass = 0.25 142 = 35.5 g
The example above could also be tackled like this:
mass of Na2SO4 = 20/2 40 142 = 35.5 g

Avogadro constant
Mole and number of formula units
One mole of a substance is its gram formula mass (GFM).
One mole of a substance contains 6.02 x 1023 formula units.
This number is known as the Avogadro constant.
The Avogadro constant can be found in the SQA data booklet, and is expressed as 6.02 x 1023 mol-1.
The term formula unit is a general term that relates to the type of particles that make up a substance. In
general, it refers to the formula normally used for the substance.

In diamond, one formula unit is a carbon atom (C).

In oxygen, one formula unit is an oxygen molecule (O2).
In sodium chloride, one formula unit is one sodium ion and one chloride ion (Na+Cl-).
In silicon dioxide, one formula unit is one silicon atom and two oxygen atoms (SiO2).

Equimolar quantities of substances contain equal numbers of formula units.

The idea of the mole links the mass of a substance to the number of formula units it contains.
The calculations below involve calculating number of formula units, given number of moles, and vice versa.
The link here is:
1 mole 6.02 1023 formula units
Question

How many molecules are contained in 0.65 mole of sulphur dioxide, SO2?
Answer

Find: m molecules from 0.65 mole of SO2

Link: 6.02 1023 formula units 1 mole
Convert: 6.02 1023 molecules 1 mole
Proportion: There are 6.02 1023 molecules in 1 mole. Hence, in 0.65 mole:
m = 0.65 (6.02 1023)
m = 3.91 1023
Answer: 3.91 x 1023 molecules are in 0.65 mole of SO2.

Question

How many moles of hydrogen contain 5.5 x 1024 molecules of H2?

Answer

Find: m moles from 5.5 x 1024 molecules

Link: 1 mole 6.02 1023 formula units
Convert: 1 mole 6.02 1023 molecules
Proportion: There is 1 mole for every 6.02 1023 molecules. Hence, for 5.5 x 1024 molecules:
m = (5.5 x 1024) (6.02 1023)
m = 9.14
Answer: 9.14 moles contain 5.5 x 1024 molecules of H2.

Mass and number of formula units

The examples involve calculating number of formula units from a given mass, and vice versa.
The link here is:
mass of 1 mole 6.02 1023 formula units
As the mass of moles is involved, it is necessary to calculate the GFM of the substance.
Question

How many molecules are in 150 g of water, H2O?

Answer

GFM: 2 x H and 1 x O
2 1.0 = 2.0
1 16.0 = 16.0
GFM = 18.0 g
Find: m molecules from 150 g
Link: 6.02 1023 formula units 1 mole
Convert: 6.02 1023 molecules 150 g

Proportion: There are 6.02 1023 molecules in 150 g. Hence, in 150 g:

m = (150 6.02 1023) 18
m = 5.02 1024
Answer: 5.02 x 1024 molecules are in 150 g of water, H2O.
To work out the number of atoms, multiply the number of molecules by three, which is the number of
atoms in one molecule.
Question

What mass of carbon disulphide (CS2) contains 2.04 x 1022 molecules of CS2?
Answer

GFM: 1 x C and 2 x S
1 12.0 = 12.0
2 32.1 = 64.2
GFM = 76.2g
Find: m grams from 2.04 x 1022 molecules
Link: 1 mole 6.02 1023 formula units
Convert: 76.2 g 6.02 1023 molecules
Proportion: There are 6.02 1023 molecules in 76.2 g. Hence, for 2.04 x 1022 molecules:
m = (76.2 2.04 x 1022) (6.02 1023)
m = 2.58
Answer: 2.58 g contains 2.04 x 1022 molecules of CS2.
Question

What mass of sodium chloride (NaCl) would contain 9.03 x 1021 ions?
Answer

GFM: 1 x Na and 1 x Cl
1 23.0 = 23.0
1 35.5 = 35.5

GFM = 58.5g
Note that one formula unit of NaCl contains two ions.
Find: m grams from 9.03 x 1021 ions
Link: 1 mole 6.02 1023 formula units
Convert: 58.5 g 2 (6.02 1023) ions
Proportion: 2 (6.02 1023) ions are in 58.5 g. Hence, 9.03 x 1021 ions are in:
m = (58.5 9.03 x 1021) (2 (6.02 1023))
m = 0.44
Answer: 0.44 g of NaCl contains 9.03 x 1021 ions.

Calculating molar volume

The molar volume is the volume occupied by one mole of a gas.

The units used for the molar volume are l mol-1 (litres per mole).

Calculating molar volume from mass

Example:

976 cm3 of oxygen was found to have a mass of 1.3 g

Calculate the molar volume of oxygen, under these conditions.
Remember that, the molar volume is the volume occupied by one mole of oxygen, O2.
GFM of oxygen, O2, is 32.0 g.
Volume of 1 g = 976 1.3
Hence, 32 g = (976 1.3) 32 = 24024 cm3
Answer: 24.0 is the volume of 32.0 g of O2. So, the molar volume of oxygen is 24.0 l mol-1, under these
conditions.

Calculations involving molar volume

Volume to moles
Question
Under certain conditions, the molar volume of methane, CH4, is 23 l mol-1.How many moles of methane
are present in 250 cm3 of the gas?
Answer
Find: m moles of CH4 from 250 cm3
Link: 1 mole 23 litres
Convert: 1 mole 23000 cm3
Proportion: 23000 cm3 contains 1 mole. Hence, 250 cm3 contains:
m = (250 1) 23000
m = 0.011
Answer: 0.011 is are in 250 cm3 of CH4 gas.

Moles to volume
Question
What is the volume of 0.025 mole of hydrogen, when the molar volume is 24.0 l mol-1? Give your
answer in cm3.
Answer
Find: m cm3 of H2 from 0.025 mole
Link: 24 litres 1 mole
Convert: 24000 cm3 1 mole
Proportion: 1 mole has a volume of 24000 cm3. Hence, 0.025 mole has a volume of:
m = (0.025 24000) 1
m = 600
Answer: 600 cm3 is the volume of 0.025 mole of hydrogen.

Reacting volumes
Under the same conditions of temperature and pressure, equal number of moles of gas occupy the same volume.
This means that, the volume of a gaseous reactant or product can be calculated from the balanced equation for
the reaction.

Volume of one gas, from another gas

The examples below, involve the calculation of the volume of a product gas, from the volume of a reactant gas,
and vice versa.
Question
What volume of propane, C3H8, must be burned in oxygen, to give 30 cm3 of carbon dioxide gas as a
product (under the same conditions of temperature and pressure)?
Answer
Balanced equation: C3H8(g) + 5O2(g) 3CO2(g) + 4H2O(l)
Mole relationship: 1 mole + 5 moles 3 moles + 4 moles
Gas volume relationship: 1 vol + 5 vol 3 vol
Find: m cm3 C3H8 from 30 cm3 CO2
Link: 1 vol 3 vol
Convert: 1 cm3 3 cm3
Proportion: 3 cm3 of CO2 is produced by 1 cm3 of C3H8. Hence, to produce 30 cm3 you need:
m = 30 3
m = 10
Answer: 10 cm3 of propane must be burned.
Question
What volume of carbon dioxide is made when 50 cm3 of butene, C4H8, is completely burned in oxygen
(under the same conditions of temperature and pressure)?
Answer
Balanced equation: C4H8(g) + 6O2(g) 4CO2(g) + 4H2O(l)
Mole relationship: 1 mole + 6 moles 4 moles + 4 moles

Gas volume relationship: 1 vol + 6 vol 4 vol

Find: m cm3 CO2 from 50 cm3 C4H8
Link: 1 vol 4 vol
Convert: 1 cm3 4 cm3
Proportion: 1 cm3 of C4H8 produces 4 cm3 of CO2. Hence, when 50 cm3 is burned:
m = 4 50
m = 200
Answer: 200 cm3 of CO2 is produced.

Reactant gas in excess

When a reaction takes place, almost always one of the reactants will be in excess, unless exact quantities have
been used.
The example that follows, shows how to work out which reactant is in excess, when gases are involved, and by
how much.
Question
Which gas is in excess and by what volume, if 50 cm3 of methane reacts with 125 cm3 of oxygen?
Answer
Select one of the reactants, and calculate the volume of this reactant which would be needed to react
with the given volume of the other reactant.
Balanced equation: CH4(g) + 2O2(g) CO2(g) + 2H2O(l)
Mole relationship: 1 mole + 2 mole 1 moles + 2 moles
Gas volume relationship: 1 vol + 2 vol 1 vol
Select a reactant: Find the volume of O2 needed, for the given volume of CH4.
Find: m cm3 O2 from 50 cm3 CH4
Link: 2 vol 1 vol
Convert: 2 cm3 1 cm3
Proportion: 1 cm3 of CH4 reacts with 2 cm3 of O2. Hence, when we have 50 cm3 of CH4:
m = 2 50

m = 100
Volume of O2needed = 100 cm3
Volume of O2available = 125 cm3
The volume available is greater than the volume needed so O2 is in excess.
This means that, the reaction quantities are determined by methane, CH4.
Excess volume of O2 = 125 - 100 = 25 cm3
Answer: O2 is in excess, by 25 cm3.
The final total gas volume and composition for a reaction depends on the volumes of any gases produced, and
the unreacted volume of the excess gas reactant.
Note that, the volumes of liquids and solids can be ignored in such calculations. This is because the volumes of
solids and liquids are negligible compared to equimolar volumes of gases.
In the above example, the volume and composition of the resulting gas mixture is:
Volume of CO2 produced = 50 cm3;
Volume of O2 in excess = 25 cm3;
Total volume of gas at end = 75 cm3.