Chapter 1

 The mass of a particular isotope of an element on a

scale where an atom of carbon-12 has a mass of
exactly 12 units.
 Relative atomic mass, Ar

 This term is used for substances that do not contain

 Relative isotopic mass molecules

 Relative molecular mass  The relative mass of one molecule of the compound on
a scale where an atom of carbon-12 has a mass of
exactly 12 units.
 Relative formula mass

 The weighted average mass of naturally occurring

atoms of an element on a scale where an atom of
carbon-12 has a mass of exactly 12 units.
 We can use the data obtained from a mass spectrometer to calculate the Ar of an
element very accurately.

 To calculate the Ar we follow this method:

1. multiply each isotopic mass by its percentage abundance
2. add the figures together
3. divide by 100.
 Have you ever tried to count the amount of atoms in 1 gram of water?

 What method should we use to measure the amount of atoms?

 We use ‘mole’ to count the amount of susbtances.

One mole of a substance is the amount of that substance that has the same number of
specific particles as there are atoms in exactly 12 g of the carbon-12 isotope.
 We often refer to the mass of a mole of substance as its molar mass (abbreviation
M). The units of molar mass are g mol–1.

 The number of atoms in a mole of atoms is very large:

6.02 × 1023 atoms. (Avogadro constant/Avogadro’s number)

 Avogadro constant is L (the symbol NA may also be used).

 The Avogadro constant applies to atoms, molecules, ions and electrons.

 Amount of substance (N) = mol (n) x Avogadro constant (L)

1. How many atoms exist in:

a) 1 mol of hydrogen atom?
b) 1 mol of hydrogen molecule?
c) 2 mol of water molecule?

2. How many ions present in:

a) 0.5 mol of sodium chloride
b) 4 mol of hydrochloric acid
 When reacting chemicals together we may need to know what mass of each
reactant to use so that they react exactly and there is no waste.

 To calculate this we need to know the chemical equation. This shows us the ratio of
moles of the reactants and products – the stoichiometry of the equation.

 In order to find the mass of products formed in a chemical reaction we use:

1. the mass of the reactants
2. the molar mass of the reactants
3. the balanced equation.
 We can find the stoichiometry of a reaction if we know the amounts of each reactant
that exactly react together and the amounts of each product formed.

 For example, if we react 4.0 g of hydrogen with 32.0 g of oxygen we get 36.0 g of
water.
 We can use the formula of a compound and relative atomic masses to calculate the
percentage by mass of a particular element in a compound.

% by mass
 The empirical formula of a compound is the simplest whole number ratio of the
elements present in one molecule or formula unit of the compound.

 The molecular formula of a compound shows the actual number of each of the
different atoms present in a molecule.

 We use the molecular formula to write balanced equations and to calculate molar
masses.

 The molecular formula is always a multiple of the empirical formula.

 The concentration of a solution is the amount of solute dissolved in a solvent to
make 1 dm3 of solution. The solvent is usually water.

 When 1 mole of a compound is dissolved to make 1 dm3 of solution the

concentration is 1 mol dm–3.

concentration (mol/dm3)

 When performing calculations involving concentrations in mol dm–3 you need to

change mass in grams to moles and change cm3 to dm3 (by dividing the number of
cm3 by 1000).
 Titration is used to determine the amount of substance present in a solution of
unknown concentration.

 Worked example 20 shows the steps used to calculate the concentration of a

solution of sodium hydroxide when it is neutralised by aqueous sulfuric acid of
known concentration and volume.
 We can use titration results to find the stoichiometry of a reaction. In order to do
this, we need to know the concentrations and the volumes of both the reactants.
 In 1811 the Italian scientist Amedeo Avogadro suggested that equal volumes of all
gases contain the same number of molecules.

 This idea is approximately true as long as the pressure is not too high or the
temperature too low.

 At room temperature and pressure (r.t.p.) one mole of any gas has a volume 24.0
dm3.We can use the molar gas volume of 24.0 dm3 at r.t.p. to find:
1. the volume of a given mass or number of moles of gas
2. the mass or number of moles of a given volume of gas.
 We can use the ratio of reacting volumes of gases to deduce the stoichiometry of a
reaction.