IB CHEMISTRY: TOPIC 1  STOICHIOMETRIC RELATIONSHIPS

1.2THE MOLE CONCEPT / FUNDAMENTAL MOLE CALCULATIONS

UNDERSTANDINGS
- The mole is a fixed number of particles and refers to the amount, n, of substance.
- Masses of atoms are compared on a scale relative to C-12 and are expressed as relative atomic mass (A r) and relative
formula/molecular mass (Mr).
- Molar mass (M) has units g mol-1.
- The empirical formula and molecular formula of a compound give the simplest ratio and the actual number of atoms present in a
molecule respectively.
APPLICATION AND SKILLS
- Calculation of the molar mass of atoms, ions, molecules and formula units.
- Solution of problems involving the relationships between number of particles, the amount of substance in moles and the mass in
grams.
- Interconversion of the percentage composition by mass and the empirical formula.
- Determination of the molecular formula of a compound from its empirical formula and molar mass.
- Obtaining and using experimental data for deriving empirical formulas from reactions involving mass changes.
GUIDANCE
- The value of the Avogadro’s constant (L or NA) is given in the data booklet in section 2 and will be given for paper 1 questions.
INTRO TO MOLES (TYLER DEWITT): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wI56mHUDJgQ
THE MOLE - Baking Analogy:
*A recipe calls for flour, chocolate chips, eggs, milk, vinegar, baking soda and sugar. Consider the following:
Q. Which ingredients do you measure by counting?
Q. What do you measure by volume/mass?
Q. Why does the recipe not tell you exactly how many chocolate chips or grains of sugar you will need?
Q. What units do you think the chocolate chips and sugar are given in?
*These units are used as a matter of ________________________.
*In some ways, chemistry is similar to baking.
Consider the reaction between ethanoic acid (the solute in vinegar) and baking soda (sodium hydrogen carbonate):
CH3COOH(aq) + NaHCO3(s) 
According to the balanced chemical equation, ___ molecule of ethanoic acid reacts with ___ unit of sodium hydrogen
carbonate to form ___ unit of a salt (i.e. an ___________ compound), ___ molecule of carbon dioxide and ___ molecule
of water.
Q. How would you know the amount of baking soda and vinegar to use?
*Their molecules are much too small and numerous to count like eggs.
Example 2
CHEF : eggs + 3 mushrooms + 1 pepper  1 omelette (balanced)
*Advantage: Ingredients are all ________________________; that is, they can be seen with the unaided eye.
CHEMIST: 2H2(g) + O2(g)  _______________ (balanced)
*Entities are ________________________ – cannot be seen clearly with the most powerful microscopes.

*However, chemists have developed methods that allow them to predict, with great accuracy, the number of entities
(atoms, formula units, ions, or molecules) that take part in chemical reactions.

*Chemists count atoms by organizing very large numbers of them into convenient, measurable groups.

Q. What are some examples of convenient, measurable groups that are commonly used?
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EXAMPLES: GROUPING FOR CONVENIENCE
1 ream = 500 sheets (photocopy paper) 1 Astronomical Unit = 150,000,000 Km 1 goal (football) = 6 points
1 dollar = 100 cents 1 kilometre = 1000 metres 1 litre = 1000 ml
1 Kilobyte = 1024 bytes 1 megabyte = 1048576 bytes 1 carat (jewels) = 200 mg 1
horsepower = 746 watts (joule/sec) 1 pack or deck = 52 cards 1 light-year = 9,461,000,000,000 km
1 decade = 10 years A gold record = 1,000,000 copies sold 1 century = 100 years
1 octave = 12 notes 1 millennium = 1,000 years 
Coulomb = 6 x 1024 electrons Faraday = 9.65 x 104 Coulombs
**1 mole = ___________________ particles
*THE AVOGADRO CONSTANT AND THE MOLE Amedeo Avogadro (1776 – 1856)
DEFINITION OF THE MOLE:
- One mole (1 mol) of a substance contains __________________particles (usually: atoms, molecules, ionic formula
units, ions or electrons) of the substance. This value is called the ________________ constant. Its symbol is NA or ___.

- Alternately, the mole is defined as the amount of substance that contains as many elementary entities (e.g. atoms,
12
molecules, or formula units) as exactly 12.00 grams of ____________-12, ( 6 C).
RELATIVE Atomic Mass, Ar
 The relative atomic mass of an element is the mass expressed on the ______________ __________. This is a
_____________ number because, technically, it is a ratio. *Remember  anything with “relative” in front of it is
__________________.

 Relative to what?...one twelfth (1/12) the mass of a __________ atom ; one twelfth of a ________ atom equals the
mass of a __________ atom. Therefore, the mass of a fluorine atom (F-19), for example, is about ________times heavier
than a H-1 atom.

ISOTOPES:
 Why is the relative atomic mass of hydrogen not exactly 1.00?...due to the existence of ___________________.
Hydrogen has _____ isotopes [H-1(normal hydrogen, H-2(deuterium), H-3(tritium)]. Remember, atoms of the same
element that contain different numbers of ______________are called isotopes. Most elements are made up of two or more
isotopes. The only elements with one naturally occurring isotope are beryllium, sodium, aluminum, and phosphorus. The
relative atomic mass found on the periodic table is the weighted average mass of all the naturally occurring isotopes for
that element (relative to 1/12 the mass of a C-12 atom.)

EXAMPLE: Complete the table. (Magnesium has three naturally occurring isotopes.
ISOTOPE Mg-24 Mg-25 Mg-26
STANDARD 24
NOTATION 12 Mg or
# of protons (p+)
# of electrons (e-)
# of neutrons (n0)
*Isotopic 79% 10% 11%
Abundance

*ISOTOPIC ABUNDANCE  the relative amount in which each isotope is present in nature

*Calculate the relative atomic mass, Ar, of magnesium.

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PRACTICE CALCULATION:
204 206 207
 Lead occurs naturally as four isotopes. These isotopes are 82 Pb (1.37%), 82 Pb (26.26%), 82 Pb (20.82%), and
208
82 Pb (51.55%). Calculate the relative atomic mass of lead to one decimal place. (Ans. 207.2 u)

CALCULATING % ABUNDANCE:
E.g. Hydrogen is found primarily as two isotopes in nature: H-1 (A r = 1.0078) and H-2 (Ar = 2.0140). Calculate the
percentage abundance based on hydrogen’s relative atomic mass (i.e. the value given on the periodic table).

PRACTICE CALCULATION:
 Thallium consists of thallium-203 and thallium-205. Using the value form the periodic table, determine the relative
percentage abundance of each isotope.

*What is Relative MOLECULAR MASS Mass, Mr?

Worked example: Calculate the relative molecular mass of sucrose, C12H22O11.

R.M.M = 12(12.01) + 22(1.01) + 11(16.00) = 342.34

MOLE CALCULATIONS
“Warm-Up” Activity  Provide the Formula.
(i) You have 57 pencils. How many dozen pencils to you have? Provide a formula.
(ii) You have 4 dozen doughnuts. How many doughnuts do you have in total? Provide a formula.
Mole Related:
Consider a sample containing:
1. 1.2 x 1024 atoms of iron. How many moles of atoms do you have? Provide a formula.
2. 3.45 mol of water molecules. How many water molecules are present in total? Provide a formula.

FORMULA #1:

3. 8.43 x 1018 formula units of calcium chloride, CaCl2.

(i) How many moles of calcium chloride are present? (iii) How many ions are present in TOTAL?
(ii) How many moles of IONS are present?
4. 3.61 x10-4 mol of glucose, C6H12O6, molecules.
(i) How many molecules are present? (iv) How many HYDROGEN atoms are present?
(ii) How many atoms are present? (v) How many MOLES of hydrogen atoms are present?
(iii) How many MOLES of atoms are present?

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MORE PRACTICE: MOLE FORMULA #1
5. A small pin contains 0.0178 mol of iron. How many atoms of iron are in the pin? (Ans. 1.07 x 10 22)
6. A sample contains 4.70 x 10-4 mol of gold. How many atoms of gold are in the sample? (Ans. 2.83 x 10 20)
7. How many formula units are contained in 0.21 mol of magnesium nitrate? (Ans. 1.3 x 10 23)
8. A litre of water contains 55.6 mol of water. How many molecules of water are in this sample? (Ans. 3.35 x 10 25)
9. Ethyl acetate, C4H8O2, is frequently used in nail polish remover. A typical bottle of nail polish remover contains about
10. 5 mol of ethyl acetate.
a) How many molecules are in the bottle of nail polish remover? (Ans. 1.5 x10 24)
b) How many atoms are in the bottle? *Hint – How many total atoms are there in one molecule? (Ans. 2.1 x 10 25)
c) How many carbon atoms are in the sample? *Hint – How many carbon atoms are in one molecule? (Ans. 6.0 x
1024)
11. Consider a 0.829 mol sample of sodium sulfate, Na2SO4.
a) How many formula units are in the sample? (Ans. 4.99 x 10 23)
b) How many sodium ions, Na+, are in the sample? (Ans. 9.98 x 1023)
12. Consider a 1 mol sample of H2SO4.
a) How many molecules of H2SO4 are in the sample? c) How many atoms are in the sample?
b) How many moles of atoms are in the sample? d) How many moles of oxygen atoms are there in the sample?
13. A sample of bauxite ore contains 7.71 x 1024 molecules of aluminum oxide, Al203. How many moles of aluminum
oxide are in the sample? (Ans. 12.8 mol)
14. A sample of cyanic acid, HCN, contains 3.33 x 1022 atoms. How many moles of cyanic acid molecules are in the
sample? (Ans. 1.84 x 10-2 mol)
15. A sample of pure ethanoic acid, HC2H3O2, contains 1.40 x 1023 carbon atoms. How many moles of acetic acid are in
the sample? (Ans. 1.16 x 10-1 mol)
*MOLAR MASS
*Each of the following samples contain 1.00 mol, or 6.02 x 1023 entities. Why do you think the mass of each sample is
different?
Substance Chemical formula Mass (g)
Carbon (graphite) C 12.01
Sulfur (powder or rock form) S 32.06
Sodium hydroxide NaOH 40.01
Ethanol C2H5OH 46.08
Iron filings Fe 55.85
Sodium chloride NaCl 58.44
Sodium bicarbonate NaHCO3 84.00
Chloroform CHCl3 119.37
Cesium chloride CsCl 168.37
Lead Pb 207.21
Hydrated copper sulfate CuSO4.5H2O 249.69
Sucrose (cane sugar) C12H22O11 342.30
Consider the following analogy: *one coin = one “atom”
Determine the mass of:
a) One penny “atom” m = _____ c) One nickel “atom” m = _____
b) One quarter “atom” m = _____ d) One loonie “atom” m = ____
“Element” Mass of one “atom” Mass of 1.00 mol “Molar mass”
(i.e. one coin) (i.e. 6.02 x1023 (grams per mole)
“
in grams atoms”)
in grams
Penny
Nickel
Quarter
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 Loonie
Q. Why are the “molar masses” different?
*Define molar mass in your own words:

*The masses of real atoms are much, much smaller. But the relationship is the same!!
Element Mass of one Mass of 1.00 mol of Molar mass Average Atomic mass
atom atoms (grams per mole) (atomic mass units)
in grams (i.e. 6.02 x1023 atoms)
in grams
Helium 6.64 x 10-24
Iron 9.28 x 10-23
Q. a) What is the relationship between molar mass and the average atomic mass of an element?

b) What is the simplest way to determine the molar mass of an element?

Q. Consider a “penny-nickel” compound. How would you determine the molar mass of the compound?

MOLE CALCULATIONS: PART 2 (CALCULATIONS INVOLVING MOLAR MASS)
“Warm-Up” Activity  Finding the MOLAR MASS of Compounds:
1. Consider a sample of 12 carbon monoxide, CO(g), molecules.
*How many carbon atoms are in the sample? _______
*How many oxygen atoms are in the sample?_______
*The ratio of carbon atoms to oxygen atoms is ____:____
*Therefore, in a sample containing 1 dozen CO(g) molecules, there is ___ dozen carbon atoms and ____ dozen oxygen
atoms.
2. Consider a sample of 6.02 x 1023 molecules of CO(g).
*How many moles of carbon atoms are in the sample? _____
*How many moles oxygen atoms are in the sample? _____
*Therefore in a 1.0 mol sample of CO(g), there is ____ mole of carbon atoms and ____ mole of oxygen atoms.
 1.0 mol of carbon atoms has a mass of _________
 1.0 mol of oxygen atoms has a mass of _________
 1.0 mol of CO(g) molecules is therefore the sum of the above 2 masses.

MCO(g) = nC(MC) + nO(MO) *Symbol for molar mass is “M”.

= 1(________ g/mol) + 1(_______g/mol)
= _________ g/mol

*Determine the molar mass, M, of the following compounds:

a) MgCl2 b) Al2S3 c) C6H12O6 d) Ca3(PO4)2 e) CuSO4•5H2O

More Mole Calculations

“Warm-Up Activity  Provide the Formula

(i) The molar mass of oxygen gas, O2(g) is 32.00 g mol-1. How many moles of oxygen are there in a 64.00 g sample of
oxygen gas? Provide a formula.
(ii) What is the mass of 3.0 mol sample of O2(g)? Provide a formula.

FORMULA #2:

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MORE PRACTICE: MOLE FORMULA #2
1. Calculate the mass of each of the following molar quantities.
a) 3.90 mol of carbon (Ans. 46.8 g) b) 1.45 x 10-5 mol of (NH4)2Cr2O7 (Ans. 3.66 x 10-3 g)
2. A litre of water contains 55.6 mol of water. What is the mass of a litre of water? (Ans. 1.00 x 10 3 g)
3. To carry out a particular reaction, a chemical engineer needs 255mol of styrene, C 8H8. How many kilograms of styrene
does the engineer need? (Ans. 26.6 kg)
4. Calculate the number of moles in each of the following samples.
a) 1.32 x 104 g of Pd b) 0.736 kg of Cr c) 56.3 mg of Ge
d) 1.55 x 105 kg of carbon tetrafluoride, CF4 e) 8.11 x 10-3 mg of C8H9I
[Ans. a) 1.24 x 10 mol b) 14.2 mol c) 7.75 x 10 mol d) 1.76 x 106 mol e) 3.49 x 10-8 mol]
2 -4

5. Sodium chloride can be used to melt snow. How many moles of sodium chloride are in a 10 kg bag?
(Ans. 1.7 x 102 mol)
6. Octane, C8H18, is a principal ingredient in gasoline. Calculate the number of moles in a 20.0 kg sample.
(Ans. 1.75 x 102 mol)
7. Determine the mass of each of the following samples.
a) 6.02 x 1024 formula units of ZnCl2 b) 9.11 x 1023 molecules of C15H21N3O15 [Ans. a) 1.36 x 103 g b) 7.32 x 102 g]
8. What is the mass of lithium in 254 formula units of lithium chloride? (Ans. 2.93 x 10-21 g)
9. Express the mass of a single atom of titanium in grams. (Ans. 7.95 x 10 -23 g)
10. Vitamin B2, C17H20N4O6, is also called riboflavin. What is the mass, in grams, of a single molecule of riboflavin? (Ans.
6.25 x 10-22 g)
11. Determine the number of molecules or formula units in each of the following samples.
a) 52.4 g of methanol, CH3OH b) 0.337 g of lead(II) phosphate c) 64.3 mg of tetraphosphorus decoxide
d) 4.35 x 10-2 g of potassium chlorate / How many ions (chlorate and potassium) are in the sample?
[Ans. a) 9.84 x 1023 b) 2.50 x 1020 c) 1.36 x 1020 d) 2.14 x 1020 / 4.27 x 1020 ]
12. How many atoms of hydrogen are in 5.3 x 104 molecules of sodium glutamate, NaC5H8NO4? (Ans. 4.2 x 105)

REVIEW (I) Molar Mass:

Complete the following table. The first few have been done for you.
Substance Mass of One Entity Mass of 6.02 x 1023 Entities
(Include Type of Entity) (i.e., molar mass)
Ne (atomic) atomic mass; 20.18 u molar mass; 20.18 g
NH3 (molecular) molecular mass; 17.04 u molar mass; 17.04 g
NaCl (ionic) formula mass; 58.44 u molar mass; 58.44 g
O3
MgCl2
C6H12O6
Pb
LiBr
Be
CCl4
Al2S3

REVIEW (II) Molar Mass:

The Mole Box  Within each box, list all the equivalent descriptions of one mole of the specified substance. The first few have been
done for you. **1 mole of ANY GAS occupies a volume of 22.7 dm3 (i.e. Litres) at STP (i.e., Standard Temperature and Pressure,
which equals: TEMPERATURE OF 0 °C and a PRESSURE OF 100 kPa).

CO(g) W(s)
Equivalents: Equivalents:
- 1 mole - 1 mole
- 6.02 x 1023 molecules - 6.02 x 1023 atoms
- 28.0 g - 183.84 g
- 22.7 L at STP

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Rb2O(s) Sn(s)
Equivalents: Equivalents:
- 1 mole
- 6.02 x 1023 formula units
- 186.94 g
SF6(g) NaOH(s)
Equivalents: Equivalents:

HNO3(l) N2O4(g)
Equivalents: Equivalents:

O3(g) BaCl2(s)
Equivalents: Equivalents:

Review (III): MOLE CALCULATIONS

Sample of: Molar Mass of Number of Number of Number of
mass sample (g) entities moles of moles of
(g/mol) entities atoms
NaCl 58.4 58.4 6.02 x 1023 1.00 2.00

NH3 24.8

H2 O 5.28x 1022

Mn2O3 0.332

K2CrO4 9.67 x 10-1

C8H8O3 7.90 x 1024

Al(OH)3 8.54 x 102

ANSWERS FOUND AT END OF PACKAGE.

SUMMARY OF SOME IMPORTANT MOLE CONCEPTS:

- Chemists use their own counting unit called THE MOLE.

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 - One mole (mol) contains 602 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 OR 6.02 x 1023 entities of a substance.
- These entities can be anything from electrons and atoms to stars. For chemist’s purposes, the mole is used to
count microscopic entities: atoms, ions, molecules, and subatomic particles.
- 6.02 x 1023 is called Avogadro’s constant (NA), name after the chemist Amedeo Avogadro, who determined this
value by experimentation. He determined that 12 g of carbon-12 contains 6.02 x 1023 atoms of carbon.
- The mole is a counting unit, just like a dozen. We can count eggs or shoes by dozens. In a similar way, we can
count the amounts of atoms by the mole. One dozen shoes takes up more space than one dozen eggs. In a similar
way, a mole of sulfur takes up more space than a mole of carbon, because sulfur has a larger mass. But the
amount of atoms is the same.

- The symbol n is used to indicate the quantity of a substance in moles.

- Molar Mass – The mass of 1 mol of a substance.

- Units are grams/mole (g/mol)
- Uses the symbol M

- Calculations involving Molar Masses

-
m mass
- n= moles=
M Molar Mass

CACULATIONS INVOLVING NUMBER OF PARTICLES/ENTITIES:

N=n N A ¿ of entities= ( moles ) ( Avogadr o' s constant )

(Remember: Symbol for NA is ALSO: “L”)

NEW CONCEPT  % COMPOSITION: WORKED EXAMPLE

*What is the percentage by mass of N, H, and O in the compound ammonium nitrate, NH₄NO₃?

SOLUTION:

First, calculate the molar mass, M.

M(NH₄NO₃) = 14.01 + (1.01 x 4) + 14.01 + (16.00 x 3) = 80.06 g mol⁻¹

Then, for each element, total the mass of its atoms, divide by M, and multiply by 100.

14.01 x 2
%N= x 100 = 35.00% (by mass)
80.06

1.01 x 4
%H = x 100 = 5.05% (by mass)
80.06

16.00 x 3
%O = x100 = 59.96% (by mass)
80.06

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*Alternately, the last percentage can be calculated by subtraction from 100.

*Remember → g/mol = g mol⁻¹

NEW CONCEPT: EMPIRICAL FORMULA

VOCABULARY: Empirical means “by experiment”. If you are asked to provide empirical evidence in a court
of law, for example, you are being asked for experimental proof. Anecdotal evidence, in comparison, is based
on personal testimony - how you feel about something as a result of your personal experience.

*The EMPIRICAL formula of a compound gives the SIMPLEST RATIO OF ITS ATOMS.

EXAMPLES:

MOLECULAR (ACTUAL) FORMULA EMPIRICAL (SIMPLEST) FORMULA

a) C6H6 CH

b) N2O4 NO2

c) Pb(NO3)2 Pb(NO3)2

d) C6H12O6 CH2O

e) P2O5 P2O5

f) C4H8 CH2

g) C6H12 CH2

 So, if the molecular formula is known, simply determine the greatest common factor of all the subscripts
in the formula and then divide by this number, in order to obtain the empirical formula of the compound.
 NOTE:
o Some compounds will have the same empirical formula (E.g. f and g from the table above).
o For some compounds the molecular and empirical formulas are identical. (E.g. c and e from the
table above).

DETERMINING AN EMPIRICAL FORMULA VIA CALCULATION:

POTENTIAL STEPS IN THE PROCESS:
1. Convert % to mass (when % composition is given)
2. Convert all masses to moles.
3. Divide by small (i.e. divide all molar quantities from step 2 by the smallest molar quantity calculated in step
2)
*4. Multiple until whole (This step is oftentimes not required.) *See worked example #3.

REMEMBER: % to mass; mass to moles; divide by small; multiply till whole

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I recommend organizing these questions in a table. (See examples.)

WORKED EXAMPLE 1:

A compound contains 20.2% phosphorus, 10.4% oxygen. The rest of the compound is chlorine Determine the
empirical formula of the compound.

*Consider a 100 g sample. Out of this 100 g sample, 20.2 g will be phosphorus,
10.4 g will be oxygen, and 69.4 g will be chlorine.

PHOSPHORUS OXYGEN CHLORINE

a) Mass (g) 20.2 10.4 69.4
b) M (g mol-1) 30.7 16.00 35.45
c) Number of moles (mol) 0.658 0.650 1.958
d) Divide by smallest 1.01 1.00 3.01
e) Nearest whole number ratio 1 1 3

*Divide every molar amount in row (c) by 0.650….the smallest of the three. The result of this calculation goes
in row (d).

*Therefore, the empirical formula of the compound is: POCl3

WORKED EXAMPLE 2:
A sample of urea contains 1.120 g N, 0.161 g H, 0.480 g C, and 0.640 g O. What is the empirical formula of
urea?
NITROGEN HYDROGEN CARBON OXYGEN
Mass (g) 1.120 0.161 0.480 0.640
M (g mol-1) 14.01 1.01 12.01 16.00
Number of moles (mol) 0.0799 0.159 *0.0400 0.0400
Divide by smallest 2.00 3.98 1.00 1.00
Nearest whole number ratio 2 4 1 1
Therefore, the empirical formula of urea is: N2H4CO

WORKED EXAMPLE 3:

*Determine the empirical formula of a compound that contains 69.9% iron and 30.1% oxygen by mass.

IRON OXYGEN
a) Mass (g) 69.9 30.1
b) M (g mol-1) 55.85 16.00
c) Number of moles (mol) 1.252 1.881
d) Divide by smallest 1.00 1.50
x2 x2
e) Nearest whole number ratio 2 3

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*Observe the answers in row (d). You can’t round 1.50…it is not close enough to a whole number. Ask
yourself: What can I multiply 1.50 by in order to obtain a whole number?....multiply ALL the numbers in row
(d) by this number.

NEW CONCEPT: HYDRATES  WHAT IS A HYDRATE?

 an ionic compound with _____________ molecules incorporated into their crystal structure
 Hydrates have a specific number of water molecules chemically bonded to each formula unit. The bond between the
water molecules and the formula unit is relatively weak.
Examples:
MgSO4 ∙ 7H2O  magnesium sulfate heptahydrate
[1MgSO4 ∙ 7H2O  MgSO4(s) + 7H2O(g) ] *Heating the hydrate, will result in the evaporation of the water, leaving
behind the anhydrate) *The ratio of hydrate formula units to water molecules, in this example, is 1:7.

Ba(OH)2 ∙ 8H2O 

CaCl2 ∙ 2H2O 

*The raised dot denotes a hydrated compound.

*Anhydrous compounds  Compounds with _______water molecules incorporated into them. (e.g. CuCl 2, MgSO4)

Sample Hydrate Problem/Calculation:

*A 1.39 g sample of hydrated copper(II) sulfate is heated until all the water of hydration is given off.
The anhydrous salt has a mass of 0.89 g. Determine the formula of the hydrate.

*Also: See empirical formula of magnesium oxide MgO worked investigation in Pearson text. (pp. 21-22)

APPLICATION: The Carbon-Hydrogen Combustion Analyzer

*Applications  forensic science, food chemistry, pharmaceuticals and academic research
 Allows chemists to determine the percentage composition of compounds that are made up of carbon, hydrogen and
oxygen.
*How does it work?
 Relies on the fact that the complete combustion (reaction with __________) of a hydrocarbon yields only two products
 _____ and _____.
 The products, CO2 and H2O, are absorbed and then weighed. The percentage composition of the unknown can then be
determined.
Sample Problem/Calculation:
A 1.000 g sample of a pure compound, containing only carbon and hydrogen, was combusted in a carbon-hydrogen
combustion analyzer. The combustion produced 0.6919 g of water and 3.338 g of carbon dioxide.
a) Calculate the masses of the carbon and the hydrogen in the sample.
b) Determine the empirical formula of the compound.

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NEW CONCEPT  MOLECULAR FORMULA

*MOLECULAR FORMULA = ACTUAL FORMULA  describes the actual number of each element that
make up a molecule or formula unit

*Being able to determine the molecular formula of a compound is an important application of analytical
chemistry (e.g. forensic science, sport doping control, medicines & drugs)

*RECALL: Many compounds can have the same empirical formula.

*Examples: The empirical formula for all of the compounds in the table is CH2O.
Compound Molecular Molar Empirical Molar M ( Molecular formula)
Formula mass Formula mass of M ( Empirical formula)
(g mol-1) E.F
formaldehyde CH2O 30.03 CH2O 30.03 1
acetic acid C2H4O2 60.05 CH2O 30.03 2
lactic acid C3H6O3 90.08 CH2O 30.03 3
erythrose C4H8O4 120.10 CH2O 30.03 4
ribose C5H10O5 150.13 CH2O 30.03 5
glucose C6H12O6 180.16 CH2O 30.03 6

*The molar mass of the molecular formula divided by the molar mass of the empirical formulas will
ALWAYS RESULT IN A WHOLE NUMBER.
*Multiply this whole number by all of the subscripts in the empirical formula in order to obtain the
molecular formula.

WORKED EXAMPLE:
*The empirical formula of butane, the fuel used in disposable lighters, is C2H5. In an experiment, the molar
mass of butane was determined to be 58 g/mol. What is the molecular formula of butane?

Steps:
1) Determine the molar mass of the empirical formula.
2) Divide the molar mass of the compound by the molar mass of the empirical formula.
3) Multiply all the subscripts in the empirical formula by the number obtain in Step (2).

 M(C2H5) = (2 x 12.01) + (5 x 1.01) = 29.07

 58 / 29 = 2 *Multiply all of the subscripts in the E.F by 2.

 Molecular formula: C4H10

Therefore, the molecular formula of butane is C4H10.

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REVIEW:
A. EMPIRICAL FORMULA CALCULATIONS
*Report answers using the correct number of significant figures and without rounding error, where
applicable.
1. % Composition - Determine the % composition of:
a) H2O b) CO2 c) C14H9Cl5

2. What percentage of KCr(SO4)2•12H2O is water?

3. Determine the empirical formula of a compound of phosphorus and oxygen that contains 43.64%
phosphorus by mass.

4. The percentage of carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen in an unknown compound is found to be

23.30%. 4.85% and 40.78% respectively. Calculate the empirical formula of the compound. *Assume
the unaccounted for mass is oxygen.

5. 2.476 g of an oxide of copper is found to contain 2.199 g of copper. Determine its empirical
formula.

6. 1.000 g of tin metal burn in air to give 1.270 g of tin oxide. Determine the empirical formula of the
oxide.

7. A 200.0 mg sample of a compound containing potassium, chromium and oxygen was analyzed and
found to
contain 70.8 mg chromium and 53.2 mg potassium. Calculate the empirical formula of the sample.

Carbon-Hydrogen Combustion Analyzer:

8. 2.80 g of an organic compound, containing only carbon and hydrogen forms 8.80 g of carbon
dioxide and
3.60 g of water when it undergoes complete combustion. Determine its empirical formula.

9. Consider Vitamin C, a compound that contains carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen only. On combustion
of 1.00 g
Vitamin C, 1.50 g CO2 and 0.408 g H2O are produced. Determine the empirical formula of Vitamin
C.
Hydrates:
10. 3.40 g of anhydrous calcium sulfate (M = 136 g mol -1) is formed when 4.30 g of hydrated calcium
sulfate is heated to constant mass. Determine the formula of the hydrate.

11. Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) are commonly used as bath salts. However, the anhydrous
form of the salt is a drying agent. To determine the water of hydration of Epsom salts, a 2.50 g
sample of the salt was placed in a porcelain evaporating dish and gently heated over a Bunsen
burner flame until no further changes were observed. The following table show the results.
Determine the formula of the hydrated salt.
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 Description Mass / g
Mass of evaporating dish 24.10
Mass of evaporating dish + MgSO4•xH2O 26.60
Mass of evaporating dish after heating 25.32

B. MOLECULAR FORMULA CALCULATIONS

1. A hydrocarbon contains 92.24% by mass of carbon. The hydrocarbon’s molar mass is 78.1 g mol -1.
Determine its molecular formula.
2. A compound of nitrogen and fluorine contains 42% by mass of nitrogen. If the molar mass of the
compound is about 66 g mol-1, determine its molecular formula.

3. An organic compound which has the empirical formula CHO has a molar mass of 232 g mol-1.
Determine its molecular formula.

ANSWERS (PAGE 7 MOLE REVIEW ACTIVITY)

Sample Molar mass Mass of sample Number of Number of moles Number of
(g/mol) (g) molecules in of molecules moles of atoms
sample
NaCl 58.4 58.4 6.02 x 1023 1.00 2.00

NH3 17.04 24.8 8.79 x1023 1.46 5.82

H2O 18.02 1.58 5.28x 1022 8.77 x 10-2 0.263

Mn2O3 157.88 10.48 3.99 x 1022 6.64 x 10-2 0.332

K2CrO4 194.20 9.67 x 10-1 2.99 x 1021 4.98 x 10-3 3.49 x 10-2

C8H8O3 152.16 1996.3 7.90 x 1024 13.1 249.33

Al(OH)3 78.01 66620 5.14 x 1026 8.54 x 102 5978

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