3 CHEMICAL FORMULAE

AND EQUATIONS
Relative atomic mass, Ar

1. The mass of an atom is very small and

therefore difficult to be determined accurately.

2. However, we can determine the mass of an

atom relative to a standard atom.

3. The atomic mass of an atom found by

comparing it with a standard atom, is called
relative atomic mass, or Ar, for short.
Relative atomic mass, Ar
Using Hydrogen
4. This method had several weaknesses.
(i) Relative masses of certain elements
cannot be determined because these elements
do not combine readily with hydrogen or are,
unable to displace hydrogen;
(ii) It was found that the relative masses
of some elements were not accurate.
(iii) Since hydrogen exists as a gas at
room temperature, it is difficult to determine
its mass accurately.
Relative atomic mass, Ar

5. (a) Oxygen was then used as

a standard to compare the masses
of atoms,
(b) However, problems arose
when the existence of three
isotopes of oxygen were
discovered.
Relative atomic mass based on
carbon-12 scale

1. Carbon-12 was chosen for a few reasons.

(a) Carbon-12 is used as a reference standard in
the mass spectrometer.
(b) Many elements can combine with carbon-12.
(c) Carbon-12 exists as a solid at room
temperature and thus can be handled easily.
(d) Carbon-12 is the most abundant carbon
isotope, occurring about 98.89%.
(e) The table of relative atomic masses based on
carbon-12 is in close agreement with the tables
based on oxygen.
Relative atomic mass based on
carbon-12 scale

2. Carbon-12 isotope is assigned a mass

of exactly 12 units.
 Relative atomic mass of an element
= average mass of oneatomof theelement
the
1
of the mass of an atomof carbon − 12
12
Relative atomic mass based on
carbon-12 scale

3. For example, the average mass of one

nitrogen atom is 14 times larger than 1/12 of
the mass of carbon-12 atom. Therefore, the
relative atomic mass of nitrogen is 14.

[Relative atomic mass is not the actual

mass of the atom. It is only a comparison
value. Therefore, it has no unit.]
 Relative molecular mass,
Mr

1.The relative molecular mass of a

substance is the average mass of a
molecule of the substance when
compared with of the mass of an atom
of carbon-12.
Relative molecular mass of a
thesubstance
average mass of one moleculeof the subs tan ce
=
1
of the mass of an atomof carbon − 12
12
Relative molecular mass,
Mr

2. The relative molecular mass of a substance

can be calculated by adding up the
relative atomic masses of all the
atoms present in a molecule of the
substance.
3. For this reason, it is essential to know the
molecular formula of the substance first.
 Relative molecular mass,
Mr
Substance Molecular Relative
formula molecular
 4. Table 3.1 shows how to mass,Mr
calculate the relative
molecular masses of some Hydrogen H2 2(1)=2
substances.
gas
Oxygen O2 2(16)=32
gas
Water H2 O 2(1)+16=18

Ammonia NH3 14+3(1)=17

[Relative atomic mass:

Propane C3H8 3(12)+8(1)=44
H,1; C,12; N,14; O,16]

Ethanol C2H5OH 2(12)+5(1)+16+1

=46
Relative molecular mass,
Mr

 5. The term `relative molecular mass'

can only be used for substances that are
made up of molecules. For ionic
compounds, the term `relative formula
mass' is used instead. 
 Relative molecular mass,
Mr
Substance Molecular Relative formula
formula mass, Mr
 6. Table 3.2
shows the Sodium NaCl 23+35.5=58.5
calculation of chloride
the relative
formula masses Potassium K2O 2(39)+16=94
of some ionic oxide
compounds. Aluminium Al2(SO4)3 2(27)+3[32+4(16
sulphate )]=342

Hydrated CuSO4.5H 64+32+4(16)+5[

[Relative atomic mass: H,1; copper(II) O 2(1)+16]=250
2
O,16; Na,23; Al,27; S,32; sulphate
Cl,35.5; K,39; Cu,64]
3.2 The Mole and the Number of
Particles

 1. In daily life, we count objects in units such as dozen and

pair. In chemistry, we measure substances in, `mole'. The
symbol of mole is mol.
 2. One mole is an amount of substance that contains as
many particles as the number of atoms in exactly 12 g of
carbon-12, which is 6.02 x 1023 particles.
 3. The number of particles per mole (6.02 x 1023 mol-') is
determined experimentally and is known as the Avogadro
constant or Avogadro number.
 The Avogadro constant (NA) is defined as the number of
particles in one mole of a substance.
3.2 The Mole and the Number of
Particles

  4. In simple words,

 1 mole of substances contains
6.02 x 1023 particles, 2 moles of
substance contain 2 x 6.02 x 1023
particles, and soon.

Atom, molecules,
ions
3.2 The Mole and the Number of
Particles

5. We can convert the number of

moles of any substance to the
number of particles in it and vice
versa using the following
relationship.

xN A
Numberof mol ← → Numberof particles

÷ NA
3.3 The Mole and the Mass of
Substances

 1. The molar mass of a

substance is the mass of one
mole of the substance. It has a
unit of grams per mole (g mol-1).
 2. In other words, the molar mass
of a substance is the mass of 6.02
x 1023 particles of the substance.
 3.3 The Mole and the Mass of
Substances
Substance Relative Molar mass (g
mass mol-1 )

 3. Based on Magnesium, Mg Ar= 24 24

the Table 3.4,
we an measure Helium, He Ar= 24 4
1 mole or
magnesium Hydrogen gas, Mr= 2(1)=2 2
simply by H2
weighing 24g
Methane, CH4 Mr= 16
of magnesium.
12+4(1)=16
This amount of
magnesium Sodium Fr = 58.5
contains 6.02 x Chloride, NaCl 23+35.5=58.
1023 magnesium 5
atoms. Zinc bromide, Fr = 225
[relative atomic mass: ZnBr2 65+2(80)=22
H,1;He,4; 5
C,12;Na,23;Mg,24;Cl,35.5;
Zn,65;Br,80]
3.3 The Mole and the Mass of
Substances

 4. We can easily calculate the mass of

any number of moles of substance or vice
versa using the following relationship.

× molar mass

→ mass in grams
number of moles ←
÷ molar mass
3.3 The Mole and the Mass of
Substances

 5. Equal numbers of moles of

substances always contain the same
number of particles.

 6. For this, reason, we can compare

the number of .particles in
substances just by comparing the
number of moles of the substances.
3.4 The Mole and the Volume of
Gas

 1. We can determine the number of moles of

any gas by measuring its volume.
 2. This, however, cannot be done for solids
and liquids.
 3. The molar volume of a gas is defined as the
volume of one mole of the gas.
 4. This means that the molar volume of a gas
is also the volume occupied by 6.02 x 1023
particles of the gas.
3.4 The Mole and the Volume of
Gas

 5. The molar volume of any gas is 22.4 dm3

mol-1 at STP or 24 dm3 mol-1 at room conditions.
 For example
 • 1 mole of oxygen gas occupies 22.4 dm3 at
STP.
 • 1 mole of hydrogen gas occupies 24 dm3 at
room temperature.
 3.4 The Mole and the Volume of
Gas

 6. The following relationship shows the cone

of the volume of a gas to the number of moles
and vice versa.

× molar volume

number of moles ← → volume of gas
÷ molar volume
3.4 The Mole and the Volume of
Gas

 7. The following shows the relationships

between the number of moles, number of
particles, mass and volume of gases.
3.4 The Mole and the Volume of
Gas

 8. In most calculations, we first convert

other quantities such as the number of
particles, mass or volume to the
number of moles.
3.5Chemical Formulae

 1. Each chemical substance it given a name and a

chemical formula.
 
 2. A chemical formula is a representation of a chemical
substance using letters for atoms and subscript
numbers to show the numbers of each type o f atoms
that are present in the substance.

 3. For example, the chemical formula of water is H2O.

The chemical formula of carbon dioxide is CO2.
3.5Chemical Formulae

 4. Based on the chemical formula of a

substance, we can gather the following
information.
 (a) The elements that make up the
substance.
 (b) The ratio or number of atoms of
each element in the substance.
Chemical formulae of
elements
 1. For elements that exist as atoms, their chemical
formulae represent their atoms. For example, the
formulae for carbon and copper are C and Cu
respectively.

 2. For elements that exist as molecules, their chemical

formulae represent their molecules. The subscript
number at the bottom right shows the number of atoms
in each molecule.
 
 3. For example, the chemical formula of oxygen gas is
as follows:
Chemical formulae of
compounds
 (a) Glucose consists of three elements
namely, carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Six
carbon atoms combine with twelve hydrogen
atom and six oxygen atoms.
Chemical formulae of
compounds
 (b) Magnesium nitrate consists of the
elements magnesium, nitrogen and oxygen.
Each magnesium atom combines with two
nitrogen atoms and six oxygen atoms.
Empirical formulae and
molecular formulae

 1. There are two types of chemical

formulae - empirical formulae and
molecular formulae
 
 2. The empirical formula of a
compound gives the simplest whole
number ratio of atoms of each
element present in the compound.
Empirical formulae and
molecular formulae

 3. The molecular formula of a compound gives the

actual number of atoms of each element that are present
in one molecule of the compound.
 (a) For example, C6H12 O6 is the molecular formula for
glucose. From the molecular formula, we know that each
molecule of glucose consists of 6 carbon atoms, 12
hydrogen atoms and 6 oxygen atoms.
 (b) The simplest ratio of carbon to hydrogen to oxygen
atoms in the molecule is 1:2:1. Therefore, the empirical
formula of glucose is CH2O.
 
Determining empirical
formulae

 1. The empirical formula of a

compound can be determined
experimentally by finding the simplest
ratio of moles of atoms of each element
in the compound.
Determining empirical
formulae

2.The following shows the steps in determining

the empirical formula of a compound.
 (a) Find the mass of each element in the

compound experimentally.
 (b) Convert the masses to the numbers of

moles of atoms.
 (c) Find the simplest ratio of moles of the

elements
Determining empirical
formulae

Example
 
2.24 g of iron combines chemically with
0.96 g of oxygen to form an oxide. What
is the empirical formula of the oxide?
[Relative atomic mass: 0, 16; Fe, 56]
 
 Determining empirical
formulae
Element Iron, Fe Oxygen, O
 Solution:
Since 2
moles of iron Mass(g) 2.24 0.96
atoms
combine
with 3 moles No. of moles of 2.24
= 0.04 0.96
of oxygen atoms = 0.06
atoms, the 56 16
empirical
formula of
the oxide is Ratio of moles 0.04 0.06
=1 = 1.5
Fe2O3. 0.04 0.04
Simplest ratio of 2 3
 
moles
 Determining empirical
formulae

Example
A potassium compound has a percentage
composition as the following.
K, 31.84%; Cl, 28.98%; O, 39.18%
What is the empirical formula of the
potassium compound?
[Relative atomic mass: 0, 16; Cl, 35.5; K,
39]
 Determining empirical
formulae

Example 3.23
Solution:
From the percentage composition, we know
that every 100 g of the compound
contains 31.84 g of potassium, 28.98 g of
chlorine and 39.18 g of oxygen. So, by
taking 100 g of the compound:
 
 Determining empirical
formulae
Element Potassium Chlorine Oxygen,
Example ,K , Cl O
Solution:
1 mole of potassium
atoms combines Mass(g) 31.84 28.98 39.18
with 1 mole of
chlorine atoms and
3 moles of oxygen
atoms. Therefore, No. of moles 31.84 39.18
the, empirical = 0.816 28.98 = 2.449
formula. of the of atoms = 0.816 16
potassium
39 35.5
compound is KClO3

Ratio of 0.816 0.816 2.449

=1 =1 =3
moles 0.816 0.816 0.816
Simplest 1 1 3
ratio of
moles
 Activity: Determining the
empirical formula of copper (II)
oxide
 Apparatus: Combustion tube with
a small hole at the end, Bunsen
burner, stoppers, glass tube,
retort stand; and clamp, balance,
U tube, spatula, porcelain dish.
 Activity: determining the
empirical formula of copper (II)
oxide
 Apparatus: Combustion tube with
a small hole at the end, Bunsen
burner, stoppers, glass tube,
retort stand; and clamp, balance,
U tube, spatula, porcelain dish.
 Materials: Hydrogen gas,
copper(II) oxide, anhydrous
calcium chloride, wooden splinter
Activity: determining the
empirical formula of copper (II)
oxide
Activity: determining the
empirical formula of copper (II)
oxide
 1. This method can also be used to
determine the empirical formula of
oxides of low reactivity metals such as
tin(II) oxide and lead(II) oxide.
 2. The empirical formula of copper(II)
oxide cannot be determined by heating
copper(II) oxide with reactive metals
such as magnesium or calcium.
Activity: Determining the
empirical formula of magnesium
oxide
 Activity: Determining the
empirical formula of magnesium
oxide
1. The following are the precautions taken in this activity.
 (a) The crucible is covered with its lid to prevent the white

fumes of magnesium oxide from escaping. This would

affect the accuracy coif the mass obtained.
 (b) The lid is removed at intervals to allow oxygen to enter

the crucible and reacts with the magnesium ribbon.

 (c) Heating, cooling and weighing are repeated until a

constant mass is obtained to ensure that, the magnesium

ribbon reacts completely to form magnesium oxide.
Finding molecular
formulae
 1. Actually, the molecular formula of a
compound is a multiple of its empirical
 Molecular formula=(Empirical formula) x n
 whereby n is a positive integer.
 Finding molecular
formulae
 2. Table 3.5 shows the molecular and empirical
formulae of some compounds.
Compound Empirical Molecular n
formula Formula

Water H2O (H2O)1= H2O 1

Ethane CH3 (CH3)2= C2H6 2

Propene CH2 (CH2)3= C3H6 3

Finding molecular
formulae
 Example
 A hydrocarbon compound has an
empirical formula of CH2 and a relative
molecular mass of 70. Find the
molecular formula of the compound.
 [Relative atomic mass: H, 1; C, 12]
Finding molecular
formulae
 Solution:
 Let the molecular formula of the compound to be (CH2) n,
 Based on the formula (CH2) n,
 the relative molecular mass = n[12 + 2(1)] = 14n
 However, it is given that the relative molecular mass = 70
 Therefore, 14n = 70
n = 70
14
n =5

 So, the molecular formula of the compound is (CH2)5 ,which

is C5H10 .
Chemical formulae of ionic
compounds
 1. Ionic compounds are compounds
consisting of cations and anions.
Cations are positively charged ions
whereas anions are negatively charged
ions.
 2. It is important that you know the
formulae of cations and anions before
constructing the chemical formulae of
ionic compounds.
 Chemical formulae of ionic
compounds
 3. Table 3.6 and Table 3.7 show the formulae of
some common cations and anions
Cation Formula of cation Charge of cation
(positive ion)

Sodium ion Na+ +1

Potassium ion K+ +1

Silver ion Ag+ +1

Hydrogen ion H+ +1
 Chemical formulae of ionic
compounds

Cation Formula of cation Charge of cation

(positive ion)

Ammonium ion NH4+ +1

Copper(I) ion Cu+ +1

Calcium ion Ca2+ +2

Magnesium ion Mg2+ +2

Zinc ion Zn2+ +2

 Chemical formulae of ionic
compounds

Cation Formula of cation Charge of cation

(positive ion)

Barium ion Ba2+ +2

Iron(II) ion Fe2+ +2

Copper(II) ion Cu2+ +2

Tin(II) ion Sn2+ +2

 Chemical formulae of ionic
compounds

Cation Formula of cation Charge of cation

(positive ion)

Lead(II) ion Pb2+ +2

Aluminium ion Al3+ +3

Iron(III) ion Fe3+ +3

Chromium(III) ion Cr3+ +3

Tin(IV) ion Sn4+ +4

Lead(IV) ion Pb4+ +4

 Chemical formulae of ionic
compounds
Anion Formula of anion Charge of anion
(negative ion)
Flouride ion F- -1
Chloride ion Cl- -1
Bromide ion Br- -1
Iodide ion I- -1
Hydroxide ion OH- -1
Nitrate ion NO3- -1
Nitrite ion NO2- -1
Hydride ion H- -1
 Chemical formulae of ionic
compounds

Anion Formula of anion Charge of anion

(negative ion)

Ethanoate ion CH3COO- -1

Manganate(IV) ion MnO4- -1

Oxide ion O2- -2

Carbonate ion CO32- -2

Sulphide ion S2- -2

 Chemical formulae of ionic
compounds
 3. Table 3.6 and Table 3.7 show the formulae of some common
cations and anions

Anion Formula of anion Charge of anion

(negative ion)

Sulphate ion SO42- -2

Sulphite ion SO32- -2
Thiosulphate ion S2O32- -2
Chromate(VI) ion CrO42- -2
Dichromate(VI) ion Cr2O72- -2
phosphate ion PO43- -3
Chemical formulae of ionic
compounds
 4. Even though ionic compounds contain
charged particles, their chemical formulae
are electrically neutral. This is because the
total of positive charges are equal to
the total of negative.
Chemical formulae of ionic
compounds
 5. The chemical formula of an ionic compound
can be constructed as the following.
 (a) From its name, identify and write down the
formula of its cation and anion.
 (b) Determine the number of cations and anions
by balancing the positive and negative charges.
 (c) Write the formula of the compound. The
number of cations and anions are written as
subscript numbers.
Chemical formulae of ionic
compounds
 Example
Chemical formulae of ionic
compounds
 Example
Naming of chemical
compounds
 1. Chemical compounds are
named systematic according to the
guidelines given by International
Union of Pure and App Chemistry
(IUPAC).
Naming of chemical
compounds
 2. For ionic compounds, the name of the cation
comes first, followed by the name of the anion

Cation Anion Name of the

compound
Sodium ion Chloride ion Sodium chloride

Magnesium ion Oxide ion Magnesium oxide

Zinc ion Sulphate ion Zinc sulphate

Naming of chemical
compounds
 3. Certain elements such as transition
metals, can form more than one type of
ions. Roman numerals (such as I, II and III)
are used in their naming to differentiate the
ions.
 (a) For example, iron can form two cation:
 Fe 2+ - named as iron(II) ion
 Fe 3+ - named as iron(III) ion
Naming of chemical
compounds
 3. Certain elements such as transition metals,
can form more than one type of ions. Roman
numerals (such as I, II and III) are used in their
naming to differentiate the ions.
 (a) For example, iron can form two cation:
 Fe 2+ - named as iron(II) ion
 Fe 3+ - named as iron(III) ion
 (b) Therefore, the names of oxides with iron
are, iron(II) oxide and iron(III) oxide
respectively.
Naming of chemical
compounds
 4. For simple molecular compounds,
the name of the first element is
maintained as it is. However, the
name of the second element is added
with an –ide. For example, as
molecular; compound consisting of
hydrogen and chlorine is given the
name hydrogen chloride.
Naming of chemical
compounds
 5. Greek prefixes are used to show the number of
atoms of each element in a compound.
 (a) Here are some examples.
 CO- Carbon monoxide
 CO2 – Carbon dioxide
 SO3 – Sulphur trioxide
 CCl4 – Carbon tetrachloride
 PCl5 – Phosphorus pentachloride
 N2O4 – Dinitrogen tetroxide
 Cl2O7 – Dichlorine heptoxide
3 CHEMICAL FORMULAE
AND EQUATIONS

3.6 Chemical Equations

3.6Chemical Equations
 1. A chemical reaction is said to occur
when a few starting substances react to
produce new substances.
 2. The starting substances are called
reactants. The new substances formed
are called products.


reactants  
→ products
producing
3.6Chemical Equations
 3. A chemical equation is a
precise description of a chemical
reaction.
 4. It can be written in words, but it
is usually more convenient and
quicker to use chemical formulae.
3.6Chemical Equations
 5. The reactants are written at the left-
hand side of the equation whereas the
products are written at the right-hand side
of the equation.
 Reactant(s) Product(s)
 C(s) + O2(g)  CO2(g)
 Zn(s) + Cl2(g)  ZnCl2(s)
 HCl(aq) + NaOH(aq)  NaCl(aq) + H2O(l)