Molar Calculations
3-1
The Mole and Molar Mass
The mole (mol) is the amount of a substance that contains the same
number of entities as there are atoms in exactly 12 g of carbon-12.
1 mole of glucose molecule (C 6H12O6) contains 6 moles of C atoms, 12 moles of H atoms, and 6
moles of O atoms.
One mole (1 mol) contains 6.022×1023 entities. This constant value is
known as Avogadro’s Number (N).
The molar mass of a substance is the mass of one mole of the
substance in grams.
Atomic mass of Na = 22.99 amu. Molar mass of Na = 22.99 g/mol
3-2
Relationships between Mass (m), Amount of
element (n) & No. of entities/atoms/molecules
of an element (N)
3-3
Sample Problem 3.1
Silver (Ag, Z = 47) is used in jewelry and tableware but no longer in U.S.
coins. How many grams of Ag are in 0.0342 mol of Ag?
SOLUTION
3-4
Sample Problem 3.3
Iron (Fe, Z = 26) is the main component of steel and is therefore the most
important metal in society. How many Fe atoms are in 95.8 g of Fe?
SOLUTION
3-5
Sample Problem 3.5
Ammonium carbonate, or (NH4)2CO3, a white solid that decomposes on warming, is a
component of baking powder.
a) How many formula units are in 41.6 g of ammonium carbonate?
b) How many O atoms are in this sample?
SOLUTION
3-6
Mass Percent
3-7
Sample Problem 3.6
Ammonium nitrate, or NH4NO3, is a common fertilizer. What is the mass
percent of each element in ammonium nitrate?
SOLUTION
3-8
Molecular Formula and
Empirical Formula
3-9
Molecular and Empirical Formulas
The molecular formula shows the actual number of atoms of each
element in a molecule.
The empirical formula is the simplest formula for a molecule — it shows
the lowest whole number of moles and gives the relative number of
atoms of each element present.
The molecular formula for glucose is C6H12O6 while its empirical formula is CH2O.
The molecular formula for hydrogen peroxide is H2O2 while its empirical formula is HO.
3-10
Sample Problem 3.8
A sample of an unknown compound contains 0.21 mol of zinc, 0.14 mol of
phosphorus, and 0.56 mol of oxygen. What is its empirical formula?
SOLUTION
3-11
Sample Problem 3.9
Analysis of a sample of an ionic compound yields 2.82 g of Na, 4.35 g of Cl,
and 7.83 g of O. What is the empirical formula?
SOLUTION
3-12
Sample Problem 3.10
Elemental analysis of lactic acid (Molar Mass = 90.08 g/mol) shows that this
compound contains 40.0 mass % C, 6.71 mass % H, and 53.3 mass % O.
Determine the empirical formula and the molecular formula for lactic acid.
SOLUTION
3-13
Balancing Chemical Equations
3-14
Balancing a Chemical Equation
A magnesium strip burns in oxygen gas to yield powdery magnesium oxide OR,
Magnesium and oxygen gas react to give
Translate the statement magnesium oxide:
Mg + O2 → MgO
Balance the atoms using coefficients;
formulas cannot be changed 2Mg + O2 → 2MgO
Adjust coefficients if necessary
Check that all atoms balance Specify states of matter
2Mg (s) + O2 (g) → 2MgO (s)
3-15
Sample Problem 3.12
Octane (C8H18) liquid mixes with oxygen from the air and burns to form
carbon dioxide and water vapor. Write a balanced equation for this
reaction.
SOLUTION
3-16
CLASS ACTIVITY
Problem 3.11 (d)
Calculate the molar mass of Ca(C2H3O2)2.
Problem 3.15 (c)
Calculate the number of H− ions in 5.82g of SrH2.
Problem 3.21 (a)
Calculate the mass % of I in strontium periodate.
3-17
CLASS ACTIVITY
Problem 3.41 (d)
What is the Molecular Formula when the given Empirical Formula is C7H4O2 (Molar Mass
= 240.20 g/mol).
Problem 3.44
An oxide of nitrogen contains 30.45 mass % N.
(a) What is the empirical formula of the oxide?
(b) If the molar mass is 90 ±5 g/mol, what is the molecular formula?
Problem 3.46
A sample of 0.600 mol of a metal M reacts completely with excess fluorine to form 46.8 g
of MF2.
(a) How many moles of F are in the sample of MF2 that forms?
(b) How many grams of M are in this sample of MF2?
(c) What element is represented by the symbol M?
3-18
CLASS ACTIVITY
Problem 3.56 (b)
Balance: __P4O10 (s) + __H2O (l) → __H3PO4 (l)
Problem 3.58 (c)
Balance: __H3PO4 (aq) + __NaOH (aq) → __Na2HPO4 (aq) + __H2O (l)
Problem 3.60 (b)
Balance: Liquid hexane burns in oxygen gas to form carbon dioxide gas and water
vapor.
Problem 3.61 (a)
Balance: When lead(II) nitrate solution is added to potassium iodide solution, solid
lead(II) iodide forms and potassium nitrate solution remains.
3-19
Reaction Stoichiometry
3-20
Stoichiometric Calculations
C3H8 (g) + 5O2 (g) → 3CO2 (g) + 4H2O (g)
The coefficients in a balanced chemical equation
– represent the relative number of reactant and product particles
– and the relative number of moles of each.
Since moles are related to mass
– the equation can be used to calculate masses of reactants and/or
products for a given reaction.
The mole ratios from the balanced equation are used as conversion
factors.
3-21
3-22
3-23
Sample Problem 3.14
Copper is obtained from copper(I) sulfide by roasting it in the presence of
oxygen gas to form powdered copper(I) oxide and gaseous sulfur dioxide.
How many moles of oxygen are required to roast 10.0 mol of copper(I) sulfide?
SOLUTION
3-24
Sample Problem 3.15
During the process of roasting copper(I) sulfide, how many grams of sulfur
dioxide form when 10.0 mol of copper(I) sulfide reacts?
2Cu2S (s) + 3O2 (g) → 2Cu2O (s) + 2SO2 (g)
SOLUTION
3-25
Sample Problem 3.16
During the roasting of copper(I) sulfide, how many kilograms of oxygen are
required to form 2.86 kg of copper(I) oxide?
2Cu2S (s) + 3O2 (g) → 2Cu2O (s) + 2SO2 (g)
SOLUTION
3-26
Limiting Reactant
So far we have assumed that reactants are present in the correct
amounts to react completely.
In reality, one reactant may limit the amount of product that can form.
The limiting reactant gets completely used up in the reaction.
The reactant that is not limiting is in excess – some of this reactant will
be left over.
2Cu2S (s) + 3O2 (g) → 2Cu2O (s) + 2SO2 (g)
3-27
Sample Problem 3.19
In the balanced equation:
Cl2 (g) + 3F2 (g) → 2ClF3 (g)
0.750 mol of Cl2 reacts with 3.00 mol of F2. Find the limiting reactant.
SOLUTION
3-28
Sample Problem 3.20
Hydrazine (N2H4) and dinitrogen tetraoxide (N2O4) ignite on contact to form nitrogen
gas and water vapor.
(a) How many grams of nitrogen gas form when 1.00×102 g of N2H4 and 2.00×102 g of
N2O4 are mixed?
SOLUTION
3-29
Sample Problem 3.20 (continued)
(b) How many grams of the excess reactant remain unreacted when the
reaction is over?
2N2H4 (l) + N2O4 (l) → 3N2 (g) + 4H2O (g)
SOLUTION
3-30
Percentage Yield
The theoretical yield is the amount of product calculated using the
mole ratios from the balanced equation.
The actual yield is the amount of product actually obtained in an
experiment or any reaction process.
The actual yield is usually less than the theoretical yield.
% yield = actual yield × 100%
theoretical yield
3-31
Sample Problem 3.21
Silicon carbide (SiC) is made by reacting sand (silicon dioxide, SiO 2) with powdered
carbon at high temperature. Carbon monoxide is also formed. What is the percent
yield if 51.4 kg of SiC is recovered from processing 100.0 kg of sand?
SOLUTION
3-32
CLASS ACTIVITY
Problem 3.70
Potassium nitrate decomposes on heating to produce potassium oxide and gaseous
nitrogen and oxygen. Write a balanced equation for the process.
To produce 56.6 kg of oxygen, how many (a) moles and (b) grams of potassium nitrate
must be heated?
Problem 3.71
Chromium (III) oxide reacts with hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas to form chromium (III)
sulfide and water. Write a balanced equation for the process.
To produce 421 g of chromium (III) sulfide, how many (a) moles and (b) grams of
chromium (III) oxide are required?
Problem 3.75
Elemental sulfur occurs as octatomic molecules, S8. What mass (in grams) of fluorine
gas is needed to react completely with 17.8 g of sulfur to form sulfur hexafluoride?
3-33
CLASS ACTIVITY
Problem 3.76
Solid iodine trichloride is prepared in two steps: first, a reaction between solid iodine and
gaseous chlorine to form solid iodine monochloride; then treatment with more chlorine.
(a) Write a balanced equation for each step.
(b) Write a balanced equation for the overall reaction.
(c) How many grams of iodine are needed to prepare 2.45 kg of final product?
Problem 3.79
Metal hydrides react with water to form hydrogen gas and the metal hydroxide:
SrH2 (s) + 2H2O (l) → Sr(OH)2 (s) + 2H2 (g)
You wish to calculate the mass in grams of H2 gas that can be prepared from 5.70 g of
SrH2 and 4.75 g of H2O.
(d) How many moles of H2 can be produced from the given mass of SrH2?
(e) How many moles of H2 can be produced from the given mass of H2O?
(f) Which is the limiting reactant?
(g) How many grams of H2 can be produced?
3-34
CLASS ACTIVITY
Problem 3.85
Calcium nitrate and ammonium fluoride react to form calcium fluoride, dinitrogen
monoxide, and water vapor. How many grams of each substance are present after 16.8g
of calcium nitrate and 17.50g of ammonium fluoride react completely?
Problem 3.86
Two successive reactions, A → B and B → C, have yields of 73% and 68%, respectively.
What is the overall percent yield for conversion of A → C?
Problem 3.96
Sodium borohydride (NaBH4) is used industrially in many organic syntheses. One way to
prepare it is by reacting sodium hydride with gaseous diborane (B2H6). Assuming an
88.5% yield, how many grams of NaBH4 can be prepared by reacting 7.98g of sodium
hydride and 8.16g of diborane?
3-35
