 BASIC TOOLS OF ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY

Analytical chemistry is inherently a quantitative science. Whether determining the concentration of a species in a
solution, evaluating an equilibrium constant, measuring a reaction rate, or drawing a correlation between a compound’s
structure and its reactivity, analytical chemists make measurements and perform calculations. In this section we briefly
review several important topics involving the use of numbers in analytical chemistry.

 TECHNIQUES IN PROBLEM SOLVING

In Analytical chemistry, you will encounter many mathematical problems. The following suggestions will help you
arrive at a more logical and accurate solution to these problems. They are steps in problem solving that were derived from
the scientific method:
1. Read carefully. Careful reading is necessary to understand the problem.
2. Make illustrations. Sketch the physical situation described in the problem to check your understanding of the problem.
3. Write down the given facts or data. Identify or label the given data properly. Jot down clues.
4. Know what is to be found. Record this as the unknown.
5. Write the equation that relates the given data to the unknown.
6. Solve for the unknowns by applying the appropriate equations.
7. Review your work.

 BASIC MATHEMATICAL CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES RELATED TO ANALYTICAL

CHEMISTRY
A. EXPONENTS
An exponent is the number or symbol written as a superscript above and to the right of a certain number or
symbol called the base. It tells how many times the base is used as a factor.
Example: b2 = b x b where b is the base and 2 is the exponent.

 RULES IN USING EXPONENTS:

1. When multiplying two powers of the same base, add the exponents.
2. To obtain a power of a power, multiply the exponents.
3. When dividing two powers of the same base, subtract the exponents.
4. To find a power of a fraction, simplify the fraction and raise the numerator and denominator to the specified power.

 Exercises: Evaluate the following problems.

1. (1.2 mol)2 (2 mol) 2. (5 cm/s2) (3 g) 3. (10 kg/L2)2
30 g/s2 5 L2/kg

B. SCIENTIFIC NOTATION
A scientific notation is a convenient way of expressing very large and very small numbers. To write numbers in
scientific notation, express the given number as the product of an integral power of 10 and a number equal to or greater
than 1 but less than 10.
Example: 28,100 = 2.81 x 104
0.0056 = 5.6 x 10-3
Note that the decimal point is placed immediately to the right of the first non-zero digit. The exponent of 10
represents the number of places the decimal point is moved to the right or to the left. A negative exponent indicates that
the decimal point was moved to the right, while a positive exponent tells that the decimal point was moved to the left.

 Exercises:
B.1. Express the following numbers in scientific notation.
1. 2,900 2. 340,000 3. 0.000619 4. 0.000000405
B.2. Write the following numbers in decimal form
1. 9.3 x 107 2. 3.2 x 10-3 3. 1.03 x 10-8 4. 8.09 x 1012

C. SIGNIFICANT FIGURES
The digits which indicate the number of units we are reasonably sure of having counted in making a measurement
are called the significant figures. The greater the number of significant figures obtained when making a measurement,
the more accurate is the measurements. Here are some rules for determining the number of significant figures:
1. All non-zero digits are significant.
Ex. 239.44 g contains five significant figures
2. All zeros between two non-zero digits are significant.
Ex. 405.009 ml contains six significant figures
3. Unless otherwise indicated, all zeros to the left of an understood decimal point but the right of a non-zero digit are not
significant.
Ex. 101.000 L contains three significant figures
4. All zeros to the left of an expressed decimal point and to the right of a non-zero digit are significant.
Ex. 101,000.00 L contains six significant figures
5. All zeros to the right of a decimal point but to the left of a non-zero digit are not significant.
Ex. 0.000517 mole contains three significant figures
6. All zeros to the right of a decimal point and to the right of a non-zero digit are significant.
Ex. 10.00 N contains four significant figures

D. ESTIMATION OR ROUNDING OFF NUMBERS

In rounding –off numbers, there are two basic rules to be followed:
1. If the first digit to be dropped in rounding-off is 4 or less, the preceding digit is not changed
2. If it is 5 or more, the preceding digit is raised by 1.
 Exercises:
Rounded off to:
Number
2 figures 3 figures 4 figures 5 figures
4.24168 4.2 4.24 4.242 4.2417
2.25250

6.55750

3.89746

☺ Douglas Wilfred N. Rimando, RMT, MSMT