Chapter 3

Chemical Formulae and Equations

 Relative atomic mass
The mass of an atom when compared to
another atom chosen as a standardrelative
atomic mass (Ar). It has no unit.

Hence, the relative atomic mass of an element

is the average mass of one atom of the
element when compared with 121 of the mass
of a carbon-12

Relative atomic mass and relative

molecular mass
Relative molecular mass, Mr and
relative formula mass, Fr
can be calculated by adding up the Ar of all the atoms that
are present in the molecule
3.2 The mole and the number of particles
A The mole
Mass of one atom of carbon-12 is too light
cannot weigh one atom of carbon-12 in grams
but can weigh a large amount of atom of
carbon-12 in grams
6.02 x 1023 atoms in 12 grams of carbon-
12.

The number ( 6.02 x 1023 ) Avogadro

number
Amole amount of
substance that contains as
many particles as the
number of atoms in exactly
12 g of carbon-12.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h
Y7lzRBylSk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h
Y7lzRBylSk
The Avogadro constant, NA
the number of particles in one mole of a
substance

One mole of substance contains

6.02 x 1023 particles. For example,

1 mol of iron atom, Fe contain 6.02 x 1023

iron atoms, Fe
1 mol of hydrogen molecule, H2 contain 6.02 x
1023 hydrogen molecules, H2
1 mol of copper (II)
2+
ions, Cu contain
23
6.02 x 10 copper
(II) ions
 (i) The molar mass
the mass of one mole of any substance molar
mass

i.e
the molar mass of a substance = the mass of 1
mole of substance = the mass of 6.02 x 1023 particles
the unit : g mol-1
i.e
1 mole of carbon-12 has a mass of 12 g, the molar
mass of carbon-12 is 12g mol-1

B The mole and the mass of

substances
 (i) molar volume of gas
molar volume of gas the volume occupied
by one mole of the gas or 6.02 x 1023 particles of gas

equal volume of gases, measured under the same

conditions of temperature and pressure, contain equal
number of moles (and therefore equal number of
molecules) Avogadro law

22.4
the molar volume of any gas at s.t.p. is
dm3 mol-1 ; at room condition
is 24 dm3 mol-1 .
C The mole and the volume of gas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCm
YSIjOnUA
 Chemical Formula
symbols are used to write a chemical
formula

the chemical formula of a molecule tells

us

the name of the atoms present

the number of mole atoms of each

element present
The following are several
covalent compounds and
their chemical formulae,
showing the number of atoms
of each element making up
the compound :
 Name Chemical formula
Oxygen
Water
Bromine
Carbon dioxide
Ammonia
Methane
Sulphuric acid
Benzene
The following are several
ionic compound, their
charges (cation and anion),
the formula and name of
the compounds according
to the IUPAC system.
 Cation Anion Formula Name of
compound
Sodium Na+ Chloride Cl-
Potassium K+ Bromide Br-

Silver +
Ag Nitrate NO3-
Calciu
m Ca2+ Carbonate CO32-

Magnesium Mg2+ Hydroxide OH-

Zinc Zn2+ Oxide O2-

Copper Cu 2+ Sulphate SO42-

Lead Pb2+ Iodide I-

Phosphat
Iron Fe3+ e PO43-
EMPIRICAL FORMULA AND
MOLECULAR FORMULA

The empirical formula shows only

the simplest ratio of elements in it.

The molecular formula shows the

actual number of mole atom of each
type of element in it.
 The empirical formula of a
compound show the simplest
ratio of atoms of each
element present in the
compound.
To determine the Empirical
Formulae
Example 9
A sample of a compound has the
composition : sodium 9.2 g;
sulphur 12.8 g; oxygen 9.6 g.
Find the empirical formula.
[O=16.0; Na=23.0; S=32.0 ]
Element Na S O

Mass (g) 9.2 12.8 9.6

Relative atomic mass 23 32 16

No. of moles 9.2/23=0.4 12.8/32=0.4 9.6/16=0.6

Ratio 0.4/0.2=2 0.4/0.2=2 0.6/0.2=3

*simplest ratio 2 2 3

The formula of the compound is Na2S2O3

Element Na S O

Mass (g) 9.2 12.8 9.6

Relative atomic mass 23 32 16

No. of moles 9.2/23=0.4 12.8/32=0.4 9.6/16=0.6

Ratio 0.4/0.2=2 0.4/0.2=2 0.6/0.2=3

*simplest ratio 2 2 3

The formula of the compound is Na2S2O3

 Example 10
An organic compound has the
following percentage
composition by mass :
38.7% carbon; 51.6%
oxygen ; 9.7 % hydrogen.
Find the empirical formula.
[Ar : H=1.0; C=12.0; O=16.0]
Element C H O

Mass (g) 38.7 9.7 51.6

Relative atomic mass 12 1 16

No. of moles 38.7/12=3.225 9.7/1=9.7 51.6/16=3.225

Ratio 3.225/3.225=1 9.7/3.225=3 3.225/3.225=1

*simplest ratio 1 3 1

So, the empirical formula is CH3O

Element C H O

Mass (g) 38.7 9.7 51.6

Relative atomic mass 12 1 16

No. of moles 38.7/12=3.225 9.7/1=9.7 51.6/16=3.225

Ratio 3.225/3.225=1 9.7/3.225=3 3.225/3.225=1

*simplest ratio 1 3 1

So, the empirical formula is CH3O


Molecular formulae

The molecular formula shows

the symbols of the element in it

the types of the elements

the molecular formula simple multiple of the

empirical formula

Molecular formula =[ empirical

formula]n
Where n = 1,2,3,
Molecular formula of a compound
can be determined if we know the
following data:

(a) its empirical formula

(b) relative molecular mass or
molar mass
 Example 11
Glucose has empirical
formula CH2O and relative
molecular mass 180. Find the
molecular formula of glucose.
[Ar : H=1.0; C=12.0;
O=16.0]
 Example 12

The empirical formula of

pentene is CH2 and its
relative molecular mass is
70. Find the molecular
formula of pentene.
[Relative atomic mass :
C=12; H=1]
 Example 13
A compound contains 26.7% carbon, 2.2%
hydrogen and 71.1% oxygen by mass.
(a) Determine the empirical formula of the
compound formed.

(b)Given that the relative molecular mass of

the compound is 90, find its molecular
formula.
[Relative atomic mass : C, 12; H, 1; O, 16]
 Assume that the molecular formula
is (CHO2)n

Given that the relative molecular

formula of (CHO2)n = 90

n[12 + 1 + (16x2) ] = 90
45 n = 90; n = 2

The molecular formula of the

compound (CHO2)n is C2H2O4
 Chemical equations
Shows :

the types of chemicals that are

reacting
the products of the reaction
how much of the different
chemicals are reacting with
each other
physical states of substances are
represented by symbols as
follows :
(s) : solid
(g) : gas
(l) : liquid
(aq) : aqueous

 calcium carbonate, when

heated strongly, releases a
colourless gas carbon dioxide,
which turn limewater chalky,
and white solid, calcium
oxide, is formed. The
decomposition of calcium
carbonate is represented by a
chemical equation :
 When hydrogen gas
reacts with oxygen, it
burns with a blue
flame to produce a
colourless liquid, that
is water. The
chemical equation :
 Neutralisation reaction
between potassium
hydroxide and sulphuric
acid to form potassium
sulphate and water
 Aqueous potassium iodide
solution reacts with aqueous
lead(II) nitrate to produce lead(II)
iodide precipitate and aqueous
potassium nitrate solution
Calculations using chemical
equations
Stoichiometry is the calculation of the
quantities of reactants and products
involved in a chemical reaction
based on the chemical equation and
the relationship between mass,
volume and moles

the ratio between the number of moles

of a reactant and the number of moles
of a product mol ratio
 for example: the reaction
between magnesium and
oxygen to produce
magnesium oxide is
represented by the following
equation :

2Mg(s) + O2(g)
2MgO(s)
 The mole ratio between magnesium
and oxygen is 2 : 1. It mean

___ mol of magnesium reacts with ____

mol of oxygen gas.

The mole ratio between

magnesium and magnesium oxide
is____________________.

It means ____ mol of magnesium

produces ____ mol of magnesium oxide.
There are two basic questions in
stoichiometric calculation:

Given the quantities of the

reactants and you were asked to
calculate the quantities of the
products formed.

Given the quantities of the

products formed and you were
asked to calculate the quantities of
the reactants used
 The steps involved in the
calculation :
Write the chemical equation (if not given)

Step 1: Identify the two quantities involved

Step 2: Determine the mole ratio between the two

quantities

Step 3: Convert the known quantity into number of moles

Step 4: Use the mole ratio relationship to calculate the

number of moles of the unknown quantity

Step 5: Convert the calculated number of moles to the

required unit
 Example 15
A chemical reaction is represented by the
following equation.

Mg(s) + 2HCl(aq) MgCl2(aq) + H2(g)

If12 g of magnesium powder is reacted

completely with hydrochloric acid, calculate
the mass of magnesium chloride formed.
[Relative atomic mass: Mg, 24; Cl, 35.5]
 Solution
From the equation,
1 mol of Mg produced 1 mol of MgCl2
12 g of Mg (12/24 = 0.5 mol )
produced 0.5 mol MgCl2

So, mass of 0.5 mol

MgCl2 formed
= 0.5 x (24 + 71)
= 0.5 x 95 = 47.5 g
 Example 16
A chemical reaction is represented by the following
equation.

ZnCO3(s) + H2SO4(aq) ZnSO4(aq) + H2O(l)

+ CO2(g)

If50 g of zinc carbonate powder is reacted

completely with sulphuric acid, calculate the volume
of carbon dioxide gas released at room conditions.
[Relative atomic mass : Zn, 65; C, 12; O, 16; molar
volume : 24 dm3 mol-1 at room conditions]
 Solution
From the equation,
1 mol of ZnCO3 produced 1 mol of CO2
gas,
So,
[50/(65 + 12 + 48)=0.4 mol ] ZnCO3
produced 0.4 mol of CO2

Volume of 0.4 mol CO2 gas

= 0.4 x 24 dm3 = 9.6 dm3
Example 17
In the reaction between sodium and chlorine
given below, 2.5 g of sodium is burnt at room
temperature.

2Na (s) + Cl2 (g) 2NaCl (s)

Calculate (in three decimal point):

(i) the amount of sodium chloride produced
(ii) the volume of chlorine used under room
conditions in this experiment. [Na=23;
Cl=35.5; 1 mol gas occupies 24 dm 3 at room
conditions]
 Answer
(i) Number of mol of 2.5 g Na = 2.5/23 =
0.109 mol
From the equation,
2 mol of Na produced 2 mol of NaCl
That is, 2 x 23 = 46 g Na produced [2 x (23
+ 35.5)] =117 g] NaCl
So, 2.5 g Na produced[ (2.5/46) x 117 g =
6.359 g ]NaCl
(ii)
From equation,
2 mol of Na reacts with 1 mol of Cl2
gas
That is, 0.109 mol of Na reacts with
[(0.109/2) =0.0545 mol] Cl2

Hence, volume of Cl2 gas needed

= 0.0545 x 24 dm3 = 1.308 dm3
3.2 g of copper(II)oxide powder is reacted with excess
dilute nitric acid.
(a) Write a chemical equation for the reaction.
(b) Calculate the mass of copper (II)nitrate formed in
the reaction
[relative atomic mass: N,14;O,16;Cu,64]
 Hydrogen gas is prepared by reacting methane gas with steam
using platinum as catalyst. The reaction is as below:
CH4 (g) +H2O(g) CO(g) + 3H2(g)
If 60 dm3 of hydrogen gas is produced at room temperature and
pressure, calculate
(a) The mass of methane gas that is used in the reaction
(b) The number of carbon monoxide molecules released
[Relative atomic mass: H,1; C,12; 1 mol of gas occupies a volume of
24 dm3 at r.t.p. NA = 6 x 1023]