HKDSE-F4-CHEM ReVision Notes | 1

Mole concept + Mole ratio Calculations based on EQuations

 A chemical is a precise quantitative statement representing a reaction in formulae (and suitable

symbols). It tells us not only the identity of reactants used and products formed, but also the relative numbers of
particles (or formula units) and hence the relative number of moles of substances involved.
 Generally, chemical equations must be (with respect to number of atoms of any kind and ionic charges).
The numbers before the formulae of reactants and products in a balanced equation are called stoichiometric coefficients.

 mole ratio = ratio of stoichiometric coefficients in a balanced equation

❑ Write an equation for the reaction occurred when magnesium burns in air (or oxygen).
 First, write down the correct * state symbols for

formulae for the reactants and Mg(s) + O2(g) → MgO(s) the substances

products involved* optional

 Then, balance the equation (by

inspection) by adding suitable 2 Mg(s) + O2(g) → 2 MgO(s) ✓
numbers before the formulae

 Information provided in the 2 Mg atoms reacts with to 2 formula units

balanced chemical equation 1 O2 molecule form of MgO

Can you draw their
Mg Mg + O O ➔ Mg2+ O2- + Mg2+ O2-
electron diagrams?
(showing outermost
shell electrons only)
2, 8, 2 2, 8, 2 2, 8 2, 8 2, 8 2, 8 2, 8 2, 8

  6.02  1023 (i.e.  L, 2 moles Mg atoms reacts with to 2 moles formula units
the Avogadro constant) 1 mole O2 molecule form of MgO

 mole ratio 2 : 1 : 2 ✓
Total mass as well
2  24.3 216.0 2  (24.3 + 16.0) as mass of each
 reacting masses
= 48.6 g = 32.0 g = 80.6 g kind of element are
conserved !

❑ Important points to be noted concerning an equation

(1) Total number of moles of reactants is not necessarily equal to total number of moles of products.
(2) Total number of “atoms” of a certain kind on the reactant side must be equal to total number of “atoms” of the same kind
on the product side. (“atoms” may be free, charged or in molecules.)
(3) Total mass of reactants must be equal to total mass of products. This is, in fact, what the Law of Conservation of Mass.
(4) Total volume of reactants is not necessarily equal to total volume of products.

❑ Calculation based on equations >>> using mole ratio in the equation

Write down a Convert given Using mole ratio from the Convert the quantity in mole
balance equation quantity into mole equation to calculate the required back to the required unit
quantity in terms of mole

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 Chapter 12 Reacting Masses 12.5 – reacting masses from chemical equations | 2

Worked Example 1
Calculate the mass of magnesium oxide formed when 2.43 g of magnesium is burnt with (a) an excess oxygen, (b) 1.28 g of oxygen

 Balanced chemical equation : .................................................................................................  2Mg(s) + O2(g) → 2MgO(s)

 Many students often make mistakes in calculation because they work on unbalanced equations.
2.43 g
 (a) no. of moles of Mg burnt = = 0.100 mol
24.3 g mol−1

⸪ mole ratio of Mg : MgO = 1 : 1  no. of moles of MgO formed = 0.100 mol

 mass of MgO formed = 0.100 mol  (24.3 + 16.0) g mol-1 = ...........................................................................  4.03 g
1.28 g
(b) no. of moles of O2 = = 0.0400 mol
2×16.0 g mol−1

As the mole ratio of Mg : O2 = 2 : 1, 0.100 mol of Mg required 0.0500 mol of O 2 for complete reaction. But there is only
0.0400 mol of O2. Hence, O2 is the limiting reactant and Mg is in excess.
 no. of moles of MgO formed = 2  0.0400 = 0.0800 mol

 Mass of MgO formed = ...................................................................................................................................  3.22 g

Worked Example 2
Calculate the mass (in kg) of copper produced by the complete reaction of 1.59 kg of copper(II) oxide in the following reaction:

CuO(s) + H2(g) → Cu(s) + H2O(l)

black reddish brown

mass 1590 g
 No. of moles of CuO reacted = = = 20 mol ............................................................................. ✓
molar mass (63.5+16.0) g mol-1

 Mole ratio of CuO : Cu = 1 : 1  no. of moles of Cu produced = 20 mol ............................................................................. ✓

 Mass of Cu produced = ....................................................................................................................................... 1.27 kg ✓

 This example illustrates what to do if the mass given is not in g unit. Some students may just divide 1.59 by 79.5 to calculate
number of moles of CuO.
 STOP & THINK
A chemical factory manufactures ammonium sulphate from ammonia and sulphuric acid. How many tonnes of ammonia would be
needed to produce 80.0 tonnes of ammonium sulphate? (Hint: 1 tonne = 1000 000 g = 106 g)

 Equation for making ammonium sulphate: .........................................................  2NH3(aq) + H2SO4(aq) → (NH4)2SO4(aq)

To make 1 mol of (NH4)2SO4 (i.e. 132.1 g), 2 mol of NH3 (i.e. 2  17.0 = 34.0 g) are required. ................................................

 to produce 80.0 tonnes (= 80  106 g) of (NH4)2SO4, mass of NH3 needed = 80.0  (34.0/132.1) tonnes = ....... 20.6 tonnes

Worked Example 3
Zinc reacts with dilute hydrochloric acid to form zinc chloride and hydrogen. Suppose 1.21 g of zinc was added to 50.0
cm3 of 0.120 M hydrochloric acid.
(a) Write a balanced equation for the reaction.
(b) Calculate the number of moles of zinc added.
(c) Calculate the number of moles of hydrochloric acid at the start.
(d) Which is the limiting reactant in this case, zinc or hydrochloric acid?
(e) What is the number of moles of hydrogen produced?
(f) What is the mass (and volume) of hydrogen produced at room temperature and pressure?
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HKDSE-F4-CHEM ReVision Notes | 3

Solution
(a) Zn(s) + 2HCl(aq) → ZnCl2(aq) + H2(g)
1.21
(b) Number of moles of Zn added = = 0.0185 mol
65 .4
(c) no. of moles of HCl at the start = 0.120  50.010-3 = 6.00  10-3 mol
(d) According to the equation, 0.0185 mol of Zn should require 2  0.0185 = 0.0390 mol hydrochloric acid for
complete reaction, but there is only 0.00600 mol of HCl(aq). Thus, hydrochloric acid is the limiting reactant.
(e) As mole ratio of HCl : H2 = 2 : 1, no. of moles of H2 produced = ½  6.00  10-3 mol = 3.00  10-3 mol
(f) Mass of H2 produced = 3.00  10-3 mol  (2  1.0) g mol-1 = 6.00  10-3 g
Given: molar volume of a gas at room temperature and pressure = 24.0 dm3 mol-1 (NOT required in F4)
 Volume of H2(g) produced at r.t.p. = 3.00  10-3 mol  24 dm3 mol-1 = 72.0 cm3

Worked Example 4
When ammonium chloride (NH4Cl) is heated with calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2), calcium chloride (CaCl2), ammonia (NH3)
and water are formed.
(a) Write a balanced equation for the reaction.
(b) When 1.21 g of ammonium chloride is used up in the reaction, calculate
(i) the number of moles of ammonium chloride used up.
(ii) the minimum number of moles and mass of calcium hydroxide required.
(iii) the maximum mass of ammonia produced.
Solution
(a) 2NH4Cl(s) + Ca(OH)2(s) → CaCl2(s) + 2NH3(g) + 2H2O(l)
(b) (i) Molar mass of NH4Cl = 14.0 + 1.0  4 + 35.5 = 53.5 g mol-1
1.21
 no. of moles of NH4Cl used up = = 0.0226 mol
53.5

(ii) mole ratio of NH4Cl : Ca(OH)2 = 2 : 1  no. of moles of Ca(OH)2 required = ½  0.0226 = 0.0113 mol
 the minimum mass of Ca(OH)2 required = 0.0113  [40.1 + (16.0 + 1.0) 2] = 0.837 g
(iii) mole ratio of NH4Cl : NH3 = 2 : 2 , i.e. 1 : 1  no. of moles of NH3 produced = 0.0226 mol
 the maximum mass of NH3 that can produced = (14.0 + 1.0  3) g mol-1  0.0226 mol = 0.384 g

Worked Example 5
A metal nitrate X(NO3)2 decomposes on heating according to the following equation:
2X(NO3)2(s) → 2XO(s) + 4NO2(g) + O2(g)
If 37.8 g of the metal nitrate yields a total of 0.50 mol of gases (or 12 dm3 measured at r.t.p.) on complete decomposition, calculate
(a) the number of moles of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) produced.
(b) the number of moles of metal nitrate decomposed.
(c) the formula mass of metal nitrate.
(d) the atomic mass of metal X.
Solution
(a) According to the equation, mole ratio of NO2 : O2 = 2 : 4 : 1
4
Total number of moles of gases (NO2 & O2) produced = 0.50 mol  no. of moles of NO2 = ( )0.50 mol = 0.40 mol
4+1

(b) According to the equation, mole ratio of X(NO3)2 : NO2 = 2 : 4

2
No. of moles of X(NO3)2 decomposed =  no. of moles of NO2 formed = 0.20 mol
4

37.8g 37 .8
(c) 0.20 mol = M= = 189 g mol-1 where M is the molar mass of X(NO3)2
M 0.20
Thus, the formula mass of X(NO3)2 is 189 .
(d) Let Ar be the atomic mass of X, then Ar + 2  (14.0 + 3  16.0) = 189  Ar = 65

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 Chapter 12 Reacting Masses 12.5 – reacting masses from chemical equations | 4

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 WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW:

actual yield
percentage yield =  100%
theoretica l yield

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 Chapter 12 Reacting Masses 12.5 – reacting masses from chemical equations | 6

Theoretical yield, Actual yield and Percentage yield

 Theoretical yield is the amount of product expected if the reaction proceeds exactly as shown in the chemical equation.
 Actual yield is the amount of product actually obtained from a reaction.
 The actual yield of a reaction is often less than the theoretical yield because:
(1) the reaction is incomplete. ...............................................................................................................................✓
(2) impurities are present in the reactants. ...........................................................................................................✓
(3) side reactions occur in which unwanted side products are produced. ............................................................✓
(4) some product is lost during different experimental processes, such as purification. ......................................✓
 The efficiency of a chemical reaction can be expressed by the percentage yield:

actual yield
percentage yield =  100%
theoretica l yield

Calculating the theoretical yield and actual yield of a product (Relative atomic masses: H = 1.0, O = 16.0, Cu = 63.5)

In an experiment, 15.9 g of copper(II) oxide was heated with 0.60 g of hydrogen according to the following reaction:
CuO(s) + H2(g) → Cu(s) + H2O(l)
(a) Calculate the theoretical yield of copper.
(b) Given the percentage yield of copper is 82%. Calculate the actual yield of copper.
Solution

15.9 g
(a) No. of moles of CuO = (63.5+16.0) gmol−1
= 0.20 mol ....................................................................................................... ✓

0.60 g
No. of moles of H2 = (1.0×2) gmol−1
= 0.30 mol  H2 is in excess and CuO is the limiting reactant. ........................ ✓

∴ no. of moles of Cu formed = no. of moles of CuO reacted = 0.20 mol ..................................................................... ✓

∴ theoretical yield of Cu = 0.20 mol  63.5 g mol-1 = 12.7 g ....................................................................... ✓

actual yield of copper

(b) percentage yield of copper = theoretical yield of copper
× 100% = 84%

∴ Actual yield of Cu = 12.7 g  84% = 10.4 g ............................................................................................ ✓

Actual yield and theoretical yield

Copper does not react with dilute hydrochloric acid. To obtain copper(II) chloride from copper, the following sequence of reactions
can be used.
Cu(s) + 4HNO3(aq) → Cu(NO3)2(aq) + 2NO2(g) + 2H2O(l)
Cu(NO3)2(aq) + 2NaOH(aq) → Cu(OH)2(s) + 2NaNO3(aq)
heat
Cu(OH)2(s) ⎯⎯→ CuO(s) + H2O(l)
CuO(s) + 2HCl(aq) → CuCl2(aq) + H2O(l)

(a) Starting from 2.1 g of pure copper, what is the theoretical yield of pure copper(II) chloride-2-water (CuCl22H2O) that can
be obtained?
(b) If the experiment is actually performed in a school laboratory, would you expect the actual yield of the product to be
greater than, equal to, or smaller than the theoretical yield?

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Solution
(a) The sequence of reactions from Cu to CuCl2 may be represented by
Cu → Cu(NO3)2 → Cu(OH)2 → CuO → CuCl2
Mole ratio of Cu to CuCl2 = 1 : 1 (i.e. if 1 mol of Cu were used, 1 mol of CuCl2 would be obtained theoretically.)
2 .1
Now, no. of moles of Cu used = = 0.0331 mol
63 .5
 no. of moles of CuCl2 formed theoretically = no. of moles of CuCl2.2H2O obtained = 0.0331 mol
Hence, the theoretical yield of CuCl2.2H2O that can be obtained
= 0.0331  (63.5 + 2  35.5 + 2  18.0)
= 5.64 g (Note that CuCl2.2H2O is a crystalline solid.)
(b) The actual yield of the product would be smaller than the theoretical yield (due to loss of intermediate products
or not all CuCl2 are crystallised out from the solution, etc.).

 Calculations based on equation (actual yield and theoretical yield) … (further example)
5.91 g of iron was dissolved in excess dilute hydrochloric acid to give a solution containing Fe2+ ions. The solution was
then boiled with concentrated nitric acid to oxidize all Fe2+ ions into Fe3+ ions. Excess sodium hydroxide solution was
added to precipitate all Fe3+ ions as iron(III) hydroxide, Fe(OH)3. The precipitate was filtered off, washed, dried and
finally heated to convert all into iron(III) oxide, Fe2O3.

(a) Calculate the theoretical mass of iron(III) oxide obtained (the theoretical yield).

(b) The mass of iron(III) oxide actually obtained from experiment (actual yield) was 7.95 g. Compare this with the
theoretical mass in (a) and give two possible reasons for difference.

Answer:
(a) Step 1: The whole process may be represented by a sequence of steps:
Fe → Fe2+ → Fe3+→ Fe(OH)3 → Fe2O3
5.91 g ?g
Step 2: To get the answer, one method is to write balanced equations for each of the reactions.
 Relevant equations: .................................................................................................. ✓ Fe(s) + 2H+(aq) → Fe2+(aq) + H2(g)
..................................................................................... ✓ 3Fe2+(aq) + 4H+(aq) + NO3-(aq) → 3Fe3+(aq) + NO(g) + 2H2O(l)
.................................................................................................................................... ✓ Fe3+(aq) + 3OH-(aq) → Fe(OH)3(s)
......................................................................................................................................✓ Fe(OH)3(s) → Fe2O3(s) + 3H2O(l)
From these, we can calculate masses of Fe2+, Fe3+ and Fe(OH)3 in turn, and finally that of Fe2O3.
A much simpler method is to write the overall expression representing the mole ratio of the given substance Fe) and the
required substance (Fe2O3), without writing any equations:
2Fe → Fe2O3 (the ‘2’ before Fe is added to balance number of Fe atoms)
Thus mole ratio of Fe : Fe2O3 = 2 : 1
Molar mass of Fe = 55.8 g mol−1; Molar mass of Fe2O3 = 55.8  2 + 16.0  3 = 159.6 g mol−1
5.91
Number of moles of Fe used = = 0.106 mol
55.8

0.106
Step 3: Number of moles of Fe2O3 formed = mol = 0.0530 mol
2

∴ theoretical mass of Fe2O3 formed = 0.0530  159.6 g = 8.46 g

(b) The actual yield (7.95 g) is smaller than the theoretical yield (8.46 g). Possible reasons are:
(1) Iron used might be impure.
(2) There was loss of materials during the various experimental processes, e.g. filtration.

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 Chapter 12 Reacting Masses 12.5 – reacting masses from chemical equations | 8

% purity  Purity of a substance

mass of the pure substance in the sample
% purity =  100%
mass of the sample
Worked Example 6  Calculating the percentage purity of an impure sample

12.5 g of limestone are treated with excess dilute hydrochloric acid. The gas evolved is completely dissolved
in a solution of sodium hydroxide whose mass is thereby increased by 5.1 g. Give equations for the reactions
that take place and calculate the percentage of calcium carbonate in the limestone.
Solution
The reaction between limestone and hydrochloric acid is:
CaCO3(s) + 2HCl(aq) → CaCl2(aq) + CO2(g) + H2O(l) …… (1)
The reaction between carbon dioxide and sodium hydroxide solution is
CO2(g) + 2NaOH(aq) → Na2CO3(aq) + H2O(l) …… (2)
5 .1
As 5.1 g CO2 is formed, no. of moles of CO2 = mol = 0.116 mol
12 .0 + 2  16 .0
From equation (1), no. of moles of CaCO3 reacted = 0.116 mol
 Mass of CaCO3 in the limestone = 0.116 mol  (40.0 + 12.0 + 316.0) g mol-1 = 11.6 g
11 .6
Hence, % of CaCO3 in the limestone =  100% = 92.8%
12 .5
 STOP & THINK  % purity
12.160 g of impure lead(II) carbonate is heated to form lead(II) oxide and carbon dioxide. The metal oxide reacts with excess
hydrogen on heating to produce 8.023 g of lead and some water.

(a) Write equations for the reactions involved.  .............................................................................................................................

(b) What is the number of moles of lead formed?  ........................................................................................................................

(c) What is the mole ratio of lead(II) carbonate decomposed and lead formed?

 ................................................................................................................................................................................................

(d) What is then the number of moles of lead(II) carbonate decomposed?

 ................................................................................................................................................................................................

(e) What is the mass of lead(II) carbonate decomposed?

 ................................................................................................................................................................................................

(f) What is the % purity of the lead(II) carbonate sample?

 ................................................................................................................................................................................................
Solution
(a) PbCO3(s) → PbO(s) + CO2(g) and PbO(s) + H2(g) → Pb(s) + H2O(l)
(b) As the molar mass of Pb is 207.2 g mol-1 and the mass of lead produced is 8.023 g,

8.023
no. of moles of Pb formed = = 0.03872 mol
207 .2

(c) mole ratio of PbCO3 : PbO = 1 : 1 and mole ratio of PbO : Pb = 1: 1  mole ratio of PbCO3 : Pb = 1 : 1
(d) Number of moles of PbCO3 decomposed = 0.03872 mol
(e) Mass of PbCO3 decomposed = 0.03872 mol  (207.2 + 12.0 + 3  16.0) g mol-1 = 10.35 g
10 .35
(f) % purity of PbCO3 =  100% = 85.11 %
12 .160
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