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Chemical reactions almost always involve large numbers of atoms, ions or molecules. To avoid having to compare
large numbers, chemists have determined the mass of a given number of these particles and measurements of
masses of species are scaled accordingly. Chemists use the mole to compare the amounts of reactants and products.
A mole of a substance is the amount of the substance that contains as many specified particles (atoms, ions,
molecules, electrons and so on) as there are atoms in exactly 12 g of carbon-12.
Experimentally it has been found that a mass (in grams) equal to the relative atomic mass of any element measures
out to Avogadro’s number of atoms.
For convenience, we often use; NA = 6.02 1023. Remember your rules for operating with indices:
Ideally Avogadro's Constant should not be the factor that
A. 10a 10b = 10a+b e.g. 102 103 = 105
determines the number of significant digits used in
quoting an answer B. 10a = 10a–b e.g. 106 = 104
10b 102
C. a0 = 1 e.g. 100 = 1
Definitions
Converting number of particles to number of moles
Number of particles
Number of moles
Avogadro' s number
N
n
NA
1
Questions
1. How many atoms are there in:
a. 1.03 mol of carbon? b. 0.308 mol of potassium?
2
b. 1.83 1024 atoms of iron?
3
Molar mass
Ref: Ch 5 pp124 - 128
Particles of different elements or compounds have different masses. The mass of one mole of a substance (i.e. 6.02
1023 particles or Avogadro’s number of particles) is referred to as its ______________ ______________.
The molar mass (symbol, M) can be worked out by calculating the relative formula mass (symbol, Mr) of a substance.
The molar mass is the equivalent of taking the relative formula mass measured in g.mol–1.
Questions
1. Determine the molar mass of hydrogen sulfide.
First calculate the relative formula mass of hydrogen sulphide.
Mr(H2S) = 2 Ar(H) + Ar(S) = ________________________________
The molar mass of hydrogen sulfide is equal to the relative molecular mass expressed in g.mol–1.
Therefore, M(H2S) = _________________________ g.mol–1
4
The relationship between mass, moles and molar mass
Ref: Ch 5 p125
Definitions
Converting mass to number of moles
Mass
Number of moles
Molar mass
m g
n mol
M g mol
5
6. How many moles are in 40g of helium?
M(He) = ____________________ g.mol-1
m(He) = 40 g
m
n
M
nHe
4.0 g
_______________ mol
4.0 g.mol 1
6
Relationships involving number of particles, mass and moles
Ref: Chp 4, pp. 62–65
From previous sections (B & D) we have identified two relationships involving the amount of
substance (mol):
N
n
NA
Where:
n = amount of substance (mol)
N = number of particles e.g. number of atoms, molecules, ions etc.
NA = Avogadro’s number = 6.02 1023
And
m
n
M
Where:
n = amount of substance (mol)
m = mass (g)
M = molar mass (g.mol–1)
This means that if we are given the mass of substance present, we can determine the number of particles.
Alternatively, if we are given the number of particles, we can determine the mass.
Questions
1. What is the mass of 4.55 1023 atoms of sulfur?
N(S) = 4.55 1023 atoms
M(S) = 32.1 g.mol–1
4.55 10 23 atoms
n S
N
N A 6.02 10 23 atoms mol
= 0.7558 mol (Note – Keep an extra significant figure at this stage. Do not round off until the final answer)
m(S) = n M
= 0.7558 mol 32.1 g.mol–1
= 24.3g (3 significant digits allowed)
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2. What is the mass of 6.02 1022 molecules of carbon dioxide?
M(CO2) =
nCO 2
N
NA
=
m(CO2) = n M =
nNi
m 2.95 g
0.05026 mol
M 58.7 g.mol 1
N(Ni) = n NA = 0.05026 mol 6.02 1023 atoms/mol = 3.03 1022 atoms (3 sig. fig.s)
n(NO2) =
N(NO2) =
8
Summary of Quantities
Quantity Quantity Symbol Unit Unit Symbol
Relative isotopic mass Ir – –
Relative atomic mass Ar – –
Relative formula mass Mr – –
or
Relative molecular mass
Amount of substance n mole mol
Number of particles N – –
(atoms, ions, molecules,
etc.)
Avogadro’s number NA 6.022 1023
particles/mole
Mass m gram g
Molar mass M grams/mole g.mol–1
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Determination of percentage composition (by mass) of a compound
Ref: Ch5 pp129 - 133
The percentage composition, by mass, of a compound indicates what proportion of the total mass of the compound
is accounted for by the mass of each element. The percentage composition can be determined:
melement
% Element 100 %
mcompound
Questions
1. 3.425 g of a sample of an oxide of lead was completely reduced to form 3.105 g of lead. What is the percentage
composition of the oxide?
mPb mO
%Pb 100 % %O 100 %
mlead oxide mlead oxide
3.105 g 0.320 g
100 % 100 %
3.425 g 3.425 g
90.66 % 9.34 %
Calculating the mass of oxygen and then the % oxygen in a two step process can be avoided in this case as there
are only two elements in the compound.
However, where there are more than two elements you must find the percentage of each element separately
(until there is just one element to be determined).
2. When 5.00 g of a substance was analysed, it was found to contain 0.965 g of sodium, 1.35 g of sulfur and some
oxygen. What is the percentage composition of the compound?
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(ii) From the chemical formula
Questions
The molar mass of the compound can be calculated using the relative atomic masses of the elements in the
compound.
M Ni
%Ni 100 %
M NiSO 4
OR
M S
%S
%(O) = 100 – %(Ni) – %(S)
100 %
M NiSO 4 = 100 – ______ – ______
= ______ %
4 M O
%O 100 %
M NiSO 4
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Determination of empirical formula
Ref: Ch 5
A compound is a pure substance that consists of two or more types of elements chemically combined in a whole
number ratio of atoms. For example, NH3, NaCl and CaSO4.
The empirical formula is the formula that gives the simplest whole number ratio of atoms (or ions for ionic species)
in a pure substance.
The molecular formula gives the actual number of atoms present in a molecule. (Note – this expression is used
exclusively for covalent molecular species)
Sometimes the molecular formula and the empirical formula are the same.
Examples
For metallic elements, the empirical formula is the same as the symbol of the element e.g. Cu
For ionic substances, the empirical formula is the same as the ionic formula e.g. BaCO3
For covalent substances the molecular formula may be the same as the empirical formula or a simple whole
number ratio of the empirical formula
Questions
Empirical
Formula Name Type of substance
formula
KCl
C3H8
Cu
NO3
MgSO4
Fe2O3
C6H6
P4
HF
O2
When determining the empirical formula of a substance you need to always find the simplest ratio of number of
moles of each atom in the substance.
12
When the mass of each element is known, then the number of moles of each element can be calculated, and hence,
the ratio of the number of moles and the empirical formula.
Questions
1. Find the empirical formula of the compound formed when 0.180 g of carbon combines completely with 0.480 g
of oxygen.
Element C O
Mass (g) 0.180 0.480
m/M 0.180 / 12.0 0.480 / 16.0
Moles (mol) 0.0150 0.0300
Divide by smallest 0.0150 / 0.0150 0.0300 / 0.0150
Simplest mole ratio 1 2
Empirical formula CO2
This means that for every one mole of carbon there are two moles of oxygen. Hence, the empirical formula of
the compound is CO2.
2. It was found experimentally that 2.93 g of aluminium chloride can be made from 0.60 g of aluminium. What is
the empirical formula of aluminium chloride?
Element Al Cl
Mass (g)
m/M
Moles (mol)
Divide by smallest
Empirical formula
3. A 0.378 g sample of iron reacts with bromine to produce 2.000 g of a bromide of iron. What is the empirical
formula of this compound?
13
For compounds, the mole ratio selected should be that nearest to a whole number ratio. If the simplest mole ratio is
not close to a whole number ratio, the values may need to be scaled up.
E.g.
Element Al S
Mole ratio 0.817 1.213
Divide by smallest 0.817 / 0.817 1.213 / 0.817
Simplest mole ratio 1 1.5
Simplest whole number ratio 12=2 1.5 2 = 3
Empirical formula Al2S3
4. Determine the empirical formula of the hydrocarbon formed from 8.40 g of carbon and 1.60 g of hydrogen.
Element C H
Not near enough to a whole
Mass (g) 8.40 1.60
number mole ratio.
m/M
Maybe: 4 (1.000 : 2.286)
Moles (mol) = 4.00 : 9.14
Divide by smallest
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Determination of molecular formula from empirical formula and Mr
Ref: Ch 5
The molecular formula can be found from the empirical formula if the relative molecular mass (or molar mass) of the
compound is known.
Questions of this type involve finding the “relative empirical formula mass”, EFr.
This is found by adding together the relative atomic masses of the atoms in the empirical formula.
Questions
1. Determine the molecular formula of benzene which has an empirical formula, CH. The relative molecular mass
(Mr) of benzene is 78.0.
The relative empirical formula mass, EFr, of benzene can be calculated thus:
The simple whole number multiple relating the empirical and molecular formulae can be found by dividing the
relative molecular mass by the relative empirical formula mass.
Mr
Therefore:
EFr
2. An organic compound has the empirical formula C2H4O. If its relative molecular mass is 88.0,
deduce its molecular formula.
Mr
Therefore:
EFr
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