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(Part 1)
A mole is a certain amount of substance. It is a general term to describe an amount of atoms, ions
or molecules, and it enables chemists to count these particles by weighing. A mole is defined as
the amount of substance which contains the Avogadro Number of particles. The Avogadro
Number (or Avogadro Constant) is defined as the number of atoms in 12g of the carbon-12
isotope, and its value is equal to 6.02 x 10.
The mass of one mole of atoms is its relative atomic mass in grams. In other words, the relative
atomic mass of any atom is the number of times the mass of one atom of an element is greater
than 1/12 of the mass of one carbon-12 atom. Its symbol in chemistry is Ar.
The mass of one mole of molecules is its relative molecular mass in grams.
Or you could say that the relative molecular mass in grams of any compound contains the same
number of molecules, equal to the Avogadro Number. Its symbol is M r.
The relative molecular mass of ionic compounds is more accurately known as the relative
formula mass, as ionic compounds do not have molecules and thus using the word molecular
would be wrong. The symbol for this is also Mr. In all places that Mr is mentioned, it may mean
either.
To calculate the Mr of a compound, you must first know its molecular formula. First note down
the masses of all the elements present in the compound (you can take this information from the
periodic table), and then multiply the mass of each element with the number of atoms in one
molecule (the number in the subscript). Add the resulting numbers. This is your M r.
One mole of any gas at room temperature pressure occupies a volume of 24 dm, or 24000 cm (1
dm = 1000cm). This is sometimes known as the molar gas volume as it contains the Avogadro
Number of particles. In more general terms, Avogadros Law states that equal volumes of all
gases at the same temperature and pressure contain the same number of particles.
Or:
These two formulas (which are basically the same; one has Ar and the other Mr) will help you as
long as you are studying chemistry.
Lets do some questions on moles together. Remember, in the paper you will be provided the
periodic table from where you can see the atomic numbers and masses of respective elements, but
it is always good to memorize the repeated ones.
A. Mr of CO2 = 12 + (2 x 16) = 44
Mass in grams = 7 x 44 = 308 g
Now, lets deal with volumes of gases. Memorize the following formulae:
These two formulae, in this form or another, are going to be used repeatedly by you. Lets do
some questions for practice.
Q. What volume (at r.t.p) would 0.2 moles of oxygen gas occupy?
A. Vol of O2 = 0.2 x 24 = 48 dm.
These were basic questions. Lets now go to some trickier ones: ones that involve
equations as well as calculations.
From the equation we can see that 1 mol of MgO contains 1 mol of ions and 1 mol of ions. 0.5
mol of MgO will contain 0.5 mol of ions and 0.5 mol of ions.
Hence, 0.5 mol of MgO contains 1 mol of ions.
Number of ions = 1 x 6 x 10 = 6 x 10 ions.