PERCENT

COMPOSITION
AND CHEMICAL
FORMULAS
OBJECTIVES:
After going through this module, you are
expected to:
1. Calculate the percent composition of a
compound from its formula;
2. Calculate the empirical formula from the
percent composition of a compound; and
3. Calculate molecular formula from the given
molar mass.
ACTIVITY:
Label the parts of the atom:

1 2 1. nucleus
2. proton
3 3. electron
4. neutron
4
 ATOM
Basic unit of matter
n 0 p + e -
neutron proton electrons

A STAR IS BORN
nucleus orbitals
 ISOTOPES
Elements having the same
number of protons but
different number of
neutrons.
 ISOTOPES OF H

Protium
 ISOTOPES
Radioisotope Application
C-14 Carbon Dating
U-238 Uranium-Lead dating
U-235 Nuclear power generation
H-3 Water content in the body
Co-60 Cancer treatment
I-131 Diagnosis of thyroid defects
Tl-201 Heart scan
Tc-99m Brain, Liver, kidney scans
Writing isotope

𝟒
𝟐
ELEMENT SYMBOL

𝟒
𝟐
 Atomic Number

𝟒
𝟐
Number of Protons
 Mass Number

𝟒
𝟐
Protons + Neutrons
Exercise
A certain isotope of element has 3
protons and 5 neutrons. Write the
complete isotopic symbol

𝐲 𝒚 𝟖
𝐙
𝟑 𝟑𝑳𝒊 𝟑
Writing isotope
QUESTION:

By which particles the

mass number is
determined?
Protons and Neutrons
RATIO PROBLEM
In a class of 40 students, there are 16
males. What is the ratio of males to
females in the class? Express the ratio in
lowest term.

16:24
INFORMATION OF
CHEMICAL FORMULA
CO2 The compound
is made up of
two elements,

OC O namely carbon
and oxygen.
CO2 One molecule of
CO2 is made up
of 1 atom of

OC O carbon and 2
atoms of
oxygen.
CO2 One mole of CO2
molecules will
1 MOLE
have one mole
1 MOLE 1 MOLE

OC O
of C atom and
two moles of O
atoms.
2 MOLES
CO2 The ratio of the
moles of C to
the moles of O
OC O in CO2 is 1:2.
MOLE CONCEPT
MOLE (n)
Amount of substance
Has a unit of mol
1 mole = 12 g of C-12
23
1 mole = 6.022 x 10 = An
Dozen = 12

Pair = 2

The mole (mol) is the amount of a substance that

contains as many elementary entities as there
are atoms in exactly 12.00 grams of 12C.
1 mol = NA = 6.0221367 x 1023
Avogadro’s number (NA)
3.2
 eggs
Molar mass is the mass of 1 mole of shoes in grams
marbles
atoms
1 mole 12C atoms = 6.022 x 1023 atoms = 12.00 g
1 12C atom = 12.00 amu

1 mole 12C atoms = 12.00 g 12C

1 mole lithium atoms = 6.941 g of Li

For any element

atomic mass (amu) = molar mass (grams)

3.2
 One Mole of:

12.01 g C S 32.07 g

Hg
200.59 g

63.55 g Cu Fe 55.85 g
3.2
Molar Mass
The mass of 1 mol of substance
Has a unit of g/mol
1 g/mol = 1 amu
(atomic mass unit)
Molar Mass of Elements
ELEMENTS MOLAR MASS (g/mol)
H 1.0079
He 4.0026
Li 6.9410
Be 9.0122
Molar Mass of Elements

IS THE SAME AS
Atomic Weight of Elements
Atomic weight of Elements
Is obtained from the sum of atomic
mass of all isotopes of elements
weighted by their relative
abundances/mole fraction

𝑨𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒄 𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 = ෍ 𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒕𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒙 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒃𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔

Atomic Weight of Elements
Calculate the atomic weight of
hydrogen given the following data:
Atomic Mass
Isotope Mole Fraction
(amu)
1H 1.0078 0.99984426
2H 2.0141 0.00015574
Atomic Weight of Elements
𝑨𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒄 𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 = ෍ 𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒕𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒙 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒃𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔

= 1.0078 𝑎𝑚𝑢 𝑥 0.99984426

+ (2.0141 𝑎𝑚𝑢 𝑥 0.00015574)

1.0079 amu
Natural lithium is:
7.42% 6Li (6.015 amu)
92.58% 7Li (7.016 amu)

Average atomic mass of lithium:

7.42 x 6.015 + 92.58 x 7.016 = 6.941 amu
100

3.1
Three isotopes of silicon occur in nature:
Isotope Percent Mass
Abundance
Si-28 92.23% 27.97693 amu
Si-29 4.68% 28.97649 amu
Si-30 3.09% 29.97377 amu
Calculate the average atomic mass of Si.
Assignment: Calculate the AAM of the ff.: A4
Isotope Percent Mass
Abundance
Rb-85 72.15% 84.9118 amu
Rb-87 27.85% 86.9092 amu

Isotope Percent Mass

Abundance
Cu-63 69.17% 62.9396 amu
Cu-65 30.83% 64.9278 amu
 Molar Mass of Compounds
Sum of the molar masses of individual
elements.

Elements
CO2
Atomic mass x number of atoms
Carbon (12.01 g/mol) x (1) 12.01 g/mol
Oxygen (16.00 g/mol) x (2) 32.00 g/mol
MOLAR MASS 44.01 g/mol
Calculate the molar mass of sucrose, C12H22O11
C = 12.01 g/mol ; H = 1.01 g/mol ; O = 16.00 g/mol

C: 12 x 12.01 g/mol = 144.12 g/mol

H: 22 x 1.01 g/mol = 22.22 g/mol
O: 11 x 16.00 g/mol = 176.00 g/mol
342.34 g/mol
Assignment: Calculate the Molar Mass of the ff.: A4

1. P4 6. K2Cr2O7
2. Mg3(PO4)2 7. LiNO3
3. H2O 8. CO
4. H2SO4 9. C3H8
5. Fe(OH)2 10. Hg2Cl2
 Molar Mass of
Compounds/Molecules
IS THE SAME AS
Formula Mass of
Compounds/Molecules
Molar mass = mass of 1 mole of a substance
(element, molecule, ion, ionic compound) in grams
Molar Mass can be:

Atomic mass - for elements/atoms

Molecular mass - for covalent compounds/
molecules (NM + NM)
Formula mass - for ions and ionic
compounds (M + NM)
(cation + anion)
Identify the type of molar mass best suited in the
following species:

1. NaCl Formula mass

2. CH4 Molecular mass
3. NO3 -
Formula mass
4. Fe Atomic mass
5. H2 Molecular mass
 1 12C atom 12.00 g 1.66 x 10-24 g
x 23 12
=
12.00 amu 6.022 x 10 C atoms 1 amu

1 amu = 1.66 x 10-24 g or 1 g = 6.022 x 1023 amu

M = molar mass in g/mol

NA = Avogadro’s number = 6.022 x 1023 particles/mole
Particles can be (atoms , molecules, ions, formula units (ionic compounds) )
3.2
Units to remember:
Mass =g
Moles = mol
Molar Mass = g/mol
Avogadro’s # = particles/mol
Particles can be:
Atoms – elements
Molecules – covalent compounds
Ions - ions
Formula units - ionic compounds
Using moles..

mass moles

Molar moles
An F. units
mass
Using moles..
grams

Grams/mol mol
 Do You Understand Molar Mass?
How many atoms are in 0.551 g of potassium (K) ?

1 mol of K = 39.10 g of K
1 mol of K = 6.022 x 1023 atoms of K

1 mol K 6.022 x 1023 atoms K

0.551 g K x x =
39.10 g K 1 mol K

8.49 x 1021 atoms of K

3.2
Molecular mass (or molecular weight) is the sum of
the atomic masses (in amu) in a molecule.

1S 32.07 amu
2O + 2 x 16.00 amu
SO2 SO2 64.07 amu

For any molecule

molecular mass in amu = molar mass in grams

1 molecule of SO2 weighs 64.07 amu

1 mole of SO2 weighs 64.07 g
3.3
 Do You Understand Molecular Mass?
How many H atoms are in 72.5 g of C3H8O ?

moles of C3H8O = 72.5 g / 60.095 g/mol = 1.21 mol

1 mol C3H8O molecules contains 8 mol H atoms
1 mol of H atoms is 6.022 x 1023 H atoms

1 mol C3H8O 8 mol H atoms 6.022 x 1023 H atoms

72.5 g C3H8O x x x =
60.095 g C3H8O 1 mol C3H8O 1 mol H atoms

5.81 x 1024 H atoms

Steps: 1. Convert grams of C3H8O to moles of C3H8O.
2. Convert moles of C3H8O to moles of H atoms.
3. Convert moles of H atoms to number of H atoms.
3.3
Percent
composition
by MASS
Percent Composition by Mass
the percent by mass of each
element in a compound.
𝒏 𝒙 𝒎𝒐𝒍𝒂𝒓 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕
= 𝒙 𝟏𝟎𝟎
𝒎𝒐𝒍𝒂𝒓 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅
Where n = number of atom/s of the element in
the chemical formula
CO2 CO2 is composed of
27.29% carbon and
72.71% oxygen. The

OC O
chemical formula
provides the percent
composition of CO2.
 CO2
𝒏 𝒙 𝒎𝒐𝒍𝒂𝒓 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕
= 𝒙 𝟏𝟎𝟎
𝒎𝒐𝒍𝒂𝒓 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅
Example:
Which element comprising Mg(OH)2 has
the highest percentage by mass?
Molar Mass of Mg(OH)2 = 58.31 g/mol
𝟏 𝒙 𝟐𝟒. 𝟑𝟏 𝒈Τ𝒎 𝒐𝒍
% 𝑴𝒈 = 𝒙 𝟏𝟎𝟎 = 𝟒𝟏. 𝟔𝟗%
𝟓𝟖. 𝟑𝟏 𝒈Τ𝒎 𝒐𝒍
𝟐 𝒙 𝟏𝟔 𝒈/𝒎𝒐𝒍
%𝑶= 𝒙 𝟏𝟎𝟎 = 𝟓𝟒. 𝟖𝟖%
𝟓𝟖. 𝟑𝟏 𝒈/𝒎𝒐𝒍
𝟐 𝒙 𝟏 𝒈Τ𝒎 𝒐𝒍
%𝑯= 𝒙 𝟏𝟎𝟎 = 𝟑. 𝟒𝟑%
𝟓𝟖. 𝟑𝟏 𝒈Τ𝒎 𝒐𝒍
Empirical Formula
from Percent
Composition
Empirical Formula
The chemical formula that is expressed in
simplest whole number ratio of atoms

In IONIC COMPOUNDS, chemical formula =

empirical formula
In COVALENT MOLECULES, chemical formula
is not ALWAYS the same as empirical formula
Empirical Formula
Chemical Formula Empirical formula
NaCl (ionic) NaCl
H2O (molecular) H2O
H2O2 (molecular) HO
C6H12O6 (molecular) CH2O
Example:
A compound is found to consist of 7.81% C
and 92.19% Cl. What is the empirical formula of
the compound?

Since the mass of the compound is not given,

assume the mass = 100.00 grams
7.81% C x 100 g = 7.81 g C
92.19% Cl x 100 g = 92.19 g Cl
Example:
A compound is found to consist of 7.81% C and 92.19% Cl.
What is the empirical formula of the compound?

𝟏 𝒎𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝑪
7.81 g C x = 𝟎. 𝟔𝟓𝟎 𝒎𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝑪
𝟏𝟐.𝟎𝟏 𝒈
𝟏 𝒎𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝑪
92.19 g Cl x = 𝟐. 𝟔𝟎𝟏 𝒎𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝑪𝒍
𝟑𝟓.𝟒𝟓 𝒈
Example:
A compound is found to consist of 7.81% C and 92.19% Cl.
What is the empirical formula of the compound?
The compound is C0.650Cl2.601. But chemical
formulas are expressed in whole numbers .
To convert to whole numbers, divide the
number of moles by the smallest subscript
value (that is 0.650).
Example:
A compound is found to consist of 7.81% C and 92.19% Cl.
What is the empirical formula of the compound?

The empirical formula is

C1Cl4 or CCl4
Example:
A compound is found to consist of 43.64% P
and 56.36% O. The molar mass for the
compound is 283.88 g/mol. What is the
empirical formula of the compound? Assume
100.00 grams of the compound. What is the
mass of each element in 100.00 grams of
compound?
Example:
43.64% P x 100 g = 43.64 g P
56.36% O x 100 g = 56.36 g O
Example:
P1.409O3.523
Example:
PO2.5
Multiply the subscripts by a factor to get
the smallest whole number. When
multiplied by 2, the empirical formula is
P2O5
Example:
If the molar mass of the
compound is 283.88 g/mol,
find its molecular formula.
Molecular Formula
from Empirical
Formula
Molecular Formula
tells us the identity of the
compound because it gives the
exact number of atoms in each
molecule
Molecular Formula
we can directly get the empirical formula
from molecular formula by just expressing
the subscripts in the lowest term.
However, we cannot directly get the
molecular formula from empirical formula.
We need the molar mass to get the
molecular mass of compound.
Molecular Formula
Mathematically, we can obtain the
molecular formula by multiplying n to the
empirical formula. n can be obtained by the
following equation:

𝒎𝒐𝒍𝒂𝒓 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅

𝒏=
𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒖𝒍𝒂
Example: P2O5
If the molar mass of the compound is 283.88
g/mol, find its molecular formula.
Mass of empirical formula:
= (30.97 g/mol x 2) + (16 g/mol x 5)

141.94 g/mol
Example: P2O5
If the molar mass of the compound is 283.88
g/mol, find its molecular formula.
𝒎𝒐𝒍𝒂𝒓 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅
𝒏=
𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒖𝒍𝒂
𝟐𝟖𝟑. 𝟖𝟖 𝒈/𝒎𝒐𝒍
𝒏=
𝟏𝟒𝟏. 𝟗𝟒 𝒈/𝒎𝒐𝒍

n=2
Example: P2O5
If the molar mass of the compound is 283.88
g/mol, find its molecular formula.
𝑴𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒖𝒍𝒂 = 𝒏 𝒙 𝑬𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒖𝒍𝒂

𝑴𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒖𝒍𝒂 = 𝟐 𝒙 𝑷𝟐 𝑶𝟓

𝑷𝟒 𝑶𝟏𝟎
Note:
If the subscript of one of the elements is not equal
or nearly equal to a whole number:
0.01,0.02,0.03,0.1, 0.11 : (Omit the decimal value)
0.998, 0.909, 0.95, 0.89 : (Round up)
For other decimals, multiply them by 2,3,4,5,6…
etc. to make them approximately equal to a whole
number.
Note:
Old Subscript Multiplier New subscript
1.2 5 6
1.3 3 3.99 ≈ 4
1.4 5 7
1.5 2 3
1.66 3 4.98 ≈ 5
1.7 3 5.1 ≈ 5