Atoms, molecules and stoichiometry

The mass of an atom is incredibly small, and it doesn't make sense to use
standard units like grams to measure it. Instead masses are measured on a
scale based on the mass of an atom of the 12C isotope.

On the 12C scale, the 12C isotope is given a mass of exactly 12 units, and
the masses of all other isotopes are measured on the same scale.

The relative isotopic mass of an isotope is the mass of the isotope on a scale on which a carbon-12
atom has a mass of exactly 12 units.

The relative atomic mass of an element is the weighted average of the masses of its isotopes on a
scale on which a carbon-12 atom has a mass of exactly 12 units.

In chlorine, there are 3 atoms of chlorine-35 for every 1 of chlorine-37.

35.5 is the relative atomic mass of chlorine.

Notice the effect of the "weighted" average. A simple average of 35 and 37

is, of course, 36. Our answer of 35.5 allows for the fact that there are more
of the lighter isotopes of chlorine - and so the "weighted" average ought to
be closer to that.

The relative molecular mass of a substance is the weighted average of the masses of the molecules
on a scale on which a carbon-12 atom has a mass of exactly 12 units.

Only applies for substances which exist as molecules only. Use it for molecules joined together by
covalent bonds or for noble gases (molecule can mean single atom in this case). Do not use things
ionically bonded.

There is no single molecule of CHCl3 which has a mass of 119.5. The problem is that
an average sample of these molecules will contain isotopes of both chlorine-35 and
chlorine-37. That means that individual molecules can have the following masses:

12 + 1 + (3 x 35) = 118

12 + 1 + (2 x 35) + 37 = 120

12 + 1 + 35 + (2 x 37) = 122

12 + 1 + (3 x 37) = 124

The weighted average takes account of the proportions of each of these molecules
in an average sample of the substance.
The relative formula mass of a substance is the weighted average of the masses of the formula units
on a scale in which a carbon-12 atom has a mass of exactly 12 units.

The "formula unit" is just the formula as you have written it.

Mass of one mole of a substance is its relative formula mass.

Mole

One mole of substance is the amount of the substance that contains the same number of particles as
the number of atoms in exactly 12 g of the 12C isotope.

This number is 6.02 x 1023 mol-1= Avogadro’s Constant (L)

So, in 18 g of water, H2O, there are 6.02 x 1023 water molecules.

In 58.5 g of sodium chloride, NaCl, there are 6.02 x 1023 NaCl formula
units.

In 2 g of hydrogen, H2, there are 6.02 x 1023 hydrogen molecules.

And so on, and so on . . .

If you have a formula like, say, CH4, you can read this as saying that 1 mole of carbon atoms are
combined with 4 moles of hydrogen atoms.

1 mole of ethanol (C2H6O) contains 2 moles of Carbon, 6 moles of hydrogen and 1 mole of Oxygen.

Empirical formula of a compound is the simplest formula which shows the ratio of the atoms of each
element in the compound.

Molecular formula shows all the atoms of each element contained in one molecule of a compound.

Remember, when you construct the table to find the formula of the compound, it is empirical
formula NOT molecular.
0.78g of sodium sulphide contained 0.48g of sodium. That means 0.30g of sulphide combines with
sodium to form sodium sulphide.

If the compound only contains carbon and hydrogen

A compound which only contains carbon and hydrogen is called a

hydrocarbon. Look for this word in the question. You can only use this
shorter method if you know that there is nothing else present.

Here's an example:

When 0.78 g of a hydrocarbon was burned in excess air, 2.64 g of carbon

dioxide and 0.54 g of water were formed. Find the empirical formula of the
hydrocarbon.

The important things to notice are that every mole of CO2 contains 1 mole
of carbon atoms. Every mole of H2O contains 2 moles of hydrogen atoms.

1 mole of CO2 weighs 44 g.

No of moles of CO2 = 2.64/44 = 0.06

Therefore, no of moles of carbon atoms, C = 0.06

1 mole of H2O weighs 18 g.

No of moles of H2O = 0.54/18 = 0.03

Each mole of H2O contains 2 moles of hydrogen atoms.

Therefore, no of moles of hydrogen atoms, H = 0.06

The ratio of the number of moles of C : H is 1 : 1.

The empirical formula is CH.

Limiting reagent:

What mass of aluminium sulphide is formed if 9g of aluminium reacts with 8g of sulphur?

For figuring out which is the limiting reagent.

First construct a balanced equation

Calculate moles of aluminium and sulphur.

Then choose either Al or S.

Ok, 1 mole of Al reacts with (0.3333x3/2) moles of S. =0.5 mol of S

The 0.5 mol of S is lesser than the calculated value.My way of understanding it, the 8g of sulphur we
already have is not enough to cover it. So, S is the limiting reagent.

Molar volume of gases: depends on conditions(temperature and pressure)

s.t.p r.t.p
Temperature 0◦C, 273K 25◦C, 298K
Pressure 1 atm, 101 kPa, 760 mmHg 1 atm
Volume occupied by 1 mol of 22.4 dm3 24.0 dm3
gas

(NO3-) nitrate ion

(NO2-) nitrite ion
HNO3 nitric acid
HNO2 nitrous acid

SO42- sulphate ion

SO32- sulphite ion
H2SO4 - sulphuric acid
H2SO3 - sulphurous acid
Avogadro's law states that, "equal volumes of all gases, at the same temperature
and pressure, have the same number of molecules". For a given mass of an ideal
gas, the volume and amount (moles) of the gas are directly proportional if the
temperature and pressure are constant.
If you are pressed for time;

Summary:

Whatever amount of gas contracted (missing) when treated with NaOH, the gas missing is
completely CO2 in previous case, the volume contracted is 40cm3, that is CO2 produced from the
combustion. Ignore volume of aqueous and liquid.

Alternate method for the last bit:

OR….Instead of Pa and m3, use kPa and dm3

Mass Spectrometry

Different ions are deflected by the magnetic field by different amounts. The
amount of deflection depends on:

 the mass of the ion. Lighter ions are deflected more than heavier
ones.
 the charge on the ion. Ions with 2 (or more) positive charges are
deflected more than ones with only 1 positive charge.

These two factors are combined into the mass/charge ratio. Mass/charge
ratio is given the symbol m/z (or sometimes m/e).

For example, if an ion had a mass of 28 and a charge of 1+, its

mass/charge ratio would be 28. An ion with a mass of 56 and a charge of
2+ would also have a mass/charge ratio of 28.

In this case, the 5 isotopes (with their relative percentage abundances) are:

zirconium-90 51.5
zirconium-91 11.2
zirconium-92 17.1
zirconium-94 17.4
zirconium-96 2.8

Suppose you had 100 typical atoms of zirconium. 51.5 of these would
be 90Zr, 11.2 would be 91Zr and so on.
The total mass of these 100 typical atoms would be

(51.5 x 90) + (11.2 x 91) + (17.1 x 92) + (17.4 x 94) + (2.8 x 96) = 9131.8

The average mass of these 100 atoms would be 9131.8 / 100 = 91.3 (to 3
significant figures).

91.3 is the relative atomic mass of zirconium.

The mass spectrum of chlorine

Chlorine has two isotopes, 35Cl and 37Cl, in the approximate ratio of 3
atoms of 35Cl to 1 atom of 37Cl. You might suppose that the mass spectrum
would look like this:

You would be wrong!

The problem is that chlorine consists of molecules, not individual atoms.

When chlorine is passed into the ionisation chamber, an electron is
knocked off the molecule to give a molecular ion, Cl2+. These ions won't
be particularly stable, and some will fall apart to give a chlorine atom and a
Cl+ ion. The term for this is fragmentation.

If the Cl atom formed isn't then ionised in the ionisation chamber, it simply
gets lost in the machine - neither accelerated nor deflected.

The Cl+ ions will pass through the machine and will give lines at 35 and 37,
depending on the isotope and you would get exactly the pattern in the last
diagram. The problem is that you will also record lines for
the unfragmented Cl2+ ions.

Think about the possible combinations of chlorine-35 and chlorine-37

atoms in a Cl2+ ion.
Both atoms could be 35Cl, both atoms could be 37Cl, or you could have one
of each sort. That would give you total masses of the Cl2+ ion of:

35 + 35 = 70

35 + 37 = 72

37 + 37 = 74

That means that you would get a set of lines in the m/z = 70 region looking
like this:

These lines would be in addition to the lines at 35 and 37.

The relative heights of the 70, 72 and 74 lines are in the ratio 9:6:1. If you
know the right bit of maths, it's very easy to show this. If not, don't worry.
Just remember that the ratio is 9:6:1.

What you can't do is make any predictions about the relative heights of the
lines at 35/37 compared with those at 70/72/74. That depends on what
proportion of the molecular ions break up into fragments. That's why you've
got the chlorine mass spectrum in two separate bits so far. You must
realise that the vertical scale in the diagrams of the two parts of the
spectrum isn't the same.

The overall mass spectrum looks like this:

The molecular ion is usually the highest mass in the spectrum
-Some exceptions w/specific isotopes
-Some molecular ion peaks are absent.
(I think you should use this when you’re trying to figure out the formula of the molecular compound)

Used the:

Mass of C = Mr (C)

Mass of CO2 Mr (CO2)

Suppose you are doing a calculation where you are working with the
following numbers: 25 cm3, 23.6 cm3 and 4.51 g.

Look at the number of significant figures each of these numbers is quoted

to. The second and third numbers are to 3 significant figures, but the first
one is only quoted to 2. That means that your answer shouldn't be quoted
to more than 2 either.