The Mole Concept
The Mole Concept
The Mole Concept
Atoms are extremely small entities and it would be silly to measure the masses of
atoms in conventional mass units like grams. Instead, their masses are compared
with the mass of an atom of the carbon-12 atom, taken as a standard. We call this
the carbon-12 scale. On this scale one atom of the carbon-12 isotope weighs
exactly 12.00 units.
The basic unit on this scale is therefore 1/12 of the mass of a 12C atom, which is
1 a.m.u. One a.m.u is 1.66 10-24 g. The masses of atoms or compounds are
measured relative to 1 a.m.u. The relative atomic mass of an element, Ar, is simply
a number that is used to compare the masses of different atoms. It has no unit.
Many elements are made of isotopes. Hence, the relative atomic mass is in fact
the weighted average masses of the isotopes of the element. For example, the
relative atomic mass of carbon is 12.011. The isotopes of carbon are carbon-12
(98.89 %), carbon-13 (1.10 %) and carbon-14 (0.01 %). Its relative atomic mass can
be calculated as follows:
100
Definition: The relative atomic mass of an element is the weighted
average of the masses of the isotopes compared to 1/12th of the mass of
a carbon-12 atom. It is given the symbol Ar.
Question:
Calculate the relative atomic mass of neon from the following data:
Neon-20 90%
Neon-21 1%
Neon-22 9%
Relative Molecular Mass
Examples:
CO2 = 12 + (16 2) = 44
H2O = (1 2) + 16 = 18
Questions:
CaCO3
(NH4)2SO4
CuSO4 5H2O
Examples:
Questions:
% by mass of N in (NH4)2SO4
% by mass of Ca in CaCO3
The Mole
Examples:
1. 1 mole of H atoms weighs 1 g and has 6.02 1023 atoms.
2. 1 mole of O2 molecules weighs 16 2 = 32 g and has 6.02 1023
molecules.
3. 1 mole of CuSO4 5 H2O weighs 250 g and has 6.02 1023 formula units.
4. 1 mole of fluorine atoms weighs 19 g and has 6.02 1023 atoms.
Mass of Substance (g) = Number of Moles of Substance (mol) Molar Mass of Substance (gmol-1)
(sustanceofsubstance
mass
molar
moles
mass
particles
moles L
L: 6.02 1023
Example 1
A sample of iron sulfide contains 5.373 g iron and 4.627 g sulfur. What is the
empirical formula of the compound?
Fe S
Given mass 5.373 g 4.627 g
Relative atomic mass 56 32
Number of moles = given 5.373/56 = 0.0959 4.627/32 = 0.145
mass/ Ar
Divide by smallest 0.0959/0.0959 = 1 0.145/0.0959 = 1.51
number
Simplest ratio = 2 2 3
Empirical formula of
compound :
Fe2S3
Example 2
C H Cl
Mass per 100 g of 10.04 g 0.84 g 89.12 g
sample
Relative atomic 12 1 35.5
mass
Number of moles = 10.04/12 = 0.84 0.84/1 = 0.84 89.12/35.5 =
given mass/ Ar 2.51
Divide by smallest 0.84/0.84 = 1 0.84/0.84 = 1 2.51/0.84
number
Simplest ratio 1 1 3
Empirical formula
of compound :
CHCl3
n(119.5) = 120
n = 120/119.5
n=1
Example 3
44 g CO2 contains 12 g C
18 g H2O contains 2 g H
C H
Mass of element/ g 0.086 0.014
Number of moles 0.086/12 = 0.0072 0.014/1 = 0.014
Mole ratio 0.0072/0.0072 = 1 0.014/0.0072 = 2
Empirical formula of X:
CH2
n (12 + 2) = 56
14n = 56
n=4
Avogadros Law
Equal volumes of all gases at the same temperature and pressure contain
the same number of molecules.
This means that once the pressure and temperature are fixed, then the volume of
a gas depends on the number of gas molecules present.
Vn
Two sets of conditions are often used to compare one gas with another:
particles
Volume
Molar
moles L
Volume
Molar Volume
Molar Volume
For Advanced Level Students Only!
Example 1
Thus 100 cm3 of propane produces 300 cm3 of carbon dioxide at the same
temperature and pressure
Example 2
The number of hydrogen atoms can be calculated indirectly from the number of
oxygen atoms.
Questions
The law of conservation of matter states that matter can neither be created nor
destroyed during a chemical reaction.
In other words, the law says that in chemical reactions, the mass of the products
is equal to the mass of the reactants.
Calculations from chemical equations involve five main steps, though not all the
steps are required in each calculation.
The steps are as follows:
Example
0.1 moles C3H8 given, hence 0.1 3 = 0.3 moles CO2 formed
Calculations from electrolysis basically involve five main steps, although fewer steps
could be used.
Electric charge (C) = current (A) time (s)
Q = I t
Electric charge (C) = Moles of electrons (mol) Faradays constant (C/mol)
Example calculation:
In the electrolysis of molten lead (II) bromide, what mass of lead is formed at the
cathode when a current of 0.1 A flows for 965 s?