Atomic and Molecular

Masses and the Mole

Chemistry 11
 Daltons Atomic Masses
Dalton found that atoms of different
elements weigh different amounts
His experiments showed that hydrogen
was the smallest atom
Atoms are too small to see or to weigh
He could, however, determine the ratios of
masses of atoms
 The Atomic Mass Scale
He developed a new units for
weighing atoms
On his scale, hydrogen was defined as
having a mass of 1
 Other Atoms
Carbon is 12x heavier than H: mass =12
Fluorine is 19x heavier than H: mass=19
Oxygen is 16x heavier than H: mass=16
Etc.
The units were called Atomic Mass Units
 Modern Atomic Mass
Units
Over the years, the scale has changed
Carbon-12 is now the standard
By definition, 1 atom of C-12 has a mass of
12
The units are called:
Unified Atomic Mass Units
(u for short)
 Masses on the Periodic
Table
If C-12 has a mass of 12, why is the mass of carbon
listed as 12.01 on the periodic table?

That is because there are three isotopes of carbon:

Carbon-12 has 6 protons and 6 neutrons, mass = 12u
Carbon-13 has 6 protons and 7 neutrons, mass = 13u
Carbon-14 has 6 protons and 8 neutrons, mass = 14u

The mass on the table is an average of the three

isotopes
 Weighted Averages
So why is the average value so close
to the smallest one?
Because there is a lot more C-12 than
the others.
The average is a weighted average.
 Molecular Masses
If, on average, a hydrogen atom weighs
1.01u, what does an H2 molecule weigh?
2.02u
How much does a molecule of water weigh?
2 H atoms = 2 x 1.01 = 2.02u
1 O atom = 1 x 16.00 = 16.00u
H2O molecule = 18.02u
 Other Examples
P4O10
4 P atoms = 4 x 30.97 = 123.88u
10 O atoms = 10 x 16.00 = 160.00u
Molecular mass = 283.88u

Try calculating the following molecular

masses: CH4, C3H8, C6H12O6, CH3COOH
 Formula Masses
Ionic compounds do not form molecules
We refer to their masses as
Formula Masses
We calculate them in just the same way as
molecular masses:
Na2SO4 = 2 Na = 2 x 22.99u
= 1 S = 1 x 32.07u
= 4 O = 4 x 16.00u
= 142.05u
 Homework: Find molecular masses of
the following:
H2S, C12H22O11, Na2O, Ca3(PO4)2,
Al2(SO4)3
The Mole
 The Mole
Atoms and molecules are extremely
small.
It is impossible to weigh individual
atoms or see them.
We need to work with large,
convenient groups of atoms or
molecules.
 Other Useful Groups
We group eggs by the dozen because
it is a convenient number of eggs
We group photocopy paper in a ream
(500 sheets)
Small items like paperclips are
sometimes sold by the gross (a dozen
dozen or 144)
 For atoms or molecules the
convenient number to use will be
called a mole.
 How Many Atoms in a
Mole?
The number of atoms in a mole has to
be very, very large
You need at least 1020 atoms or more
in order to have an amount you could
see in the palm of your hand.
In order to have a gram of hydrogen,
you would need more than 1023 atoms.
 We already have a list of Atomic
Masses
If we have to weigh moles of atoms,
we will also need a list of Molar
Masses
It would be convenient if we only had
to have one list
We can!
 We know that the atomic mass of
hydrogen is 1.01u
Remember that we said that in order to
have a gram of hydrogen we would need
more than 1023 atoms?
In fact, in order to have 1.01g H, we need
6.02 x 1023 atoms
This has been determined experimentally.
 We know that an oxygen atom weighs
16.00u
If we had 6.02 x 1023 atoms of
oxygen, it would weigh 16.00g
In fact, if we count out 6.02 x 1023
atoms of any element, the mass in
grams equals the mass of a single
atom in unified atomic mass units.
 By picking the value 6.02 x 1023 as
the number of atoms in the mole, you
can use the same numbers for both
atomic masses and molar masses
You just have to change the units
Unified atomic mass units (u) for
atoms
Grams (g) for moles.
 Definition of a Mole
The number 6.02 x 1023 is not exact
In fact, if you write it in standard
form:
602 213 670 000 000 000 000 000
But those zeroes are not really
zeroes.
We dont really know all 24 digits
The zeroes are placeholders.
 Since that value is only approximate, we
cannot define the mole as 6.02 x 1023.
We need an exact definition
Since 1 atom of Carbon-12 has an exact
mass of 12 u, how much would 1 mole of it
weigh?
1 mole of Carbon-12 would weigh
exactly 12g
That is what we will use as the basis of the
definition.
 The Official Definition
A mole is defined as the number of
atoms in exactly 12 g of Carbon-12
By using this definition, we can give it
an exact definition without knowing
its exact value.
The working value that we will use on
a daily basis is 6.02 x 1023.
 Naming the Number
The number of atoms in a mole is an
important number
Scientists usually give special names
to special or important numbers
We will call this number
Avogadros Number.
 Who was Avogadro?
Lorenzo Romano Amedeo
Carlo Avogadro, conte di
Quaregna e di Cerreto
was an Italian Scientist
who worked in the early
1800s
He did not develop the
number but we name it in
his honour.