Quantification of Elements and Compounds

Chemistry

Chemistry

07
Quantification of Elements
and Compounds
7.1 Relative Atomic Mass (Ar)

Assignment – 7.1
Discuss with the teacher and the students in your class about the units suitable
to measure the mass of the following.
� A motor car � A loaf of bread � A molecule of carbondioxide
�A brick � A tablet of medicine � A helium atom

To measure the mass of items like a motor car, a brick, a loaf bread, a tea spoonful
of sugar and a tablet of medicine, units like kilogram, gram and milligram can be
used. But if the mass of very small particles such as a carbon dioxide molecule, or a
helium atom is given in units like kilogram or gram, the value obtained is extremely
small. Even the attogram (ag), the smallest units of mass is too large to indicate the
mass of atoms or ions.
1 ag = 10-18 g
For example, the mass of an atom of the lightest element, hydrogen (H) is 1.674x10-24 g.
That is 0.000000000000000000000001674 g. Masses of some other atoms are
given below.

Mass of a carbon (C) atom = 1.993 x 10-23 g

Mass of a sodium (Na) atom = 3.819 x 10-23 g
Mass of a chlorine (Cl) atom = 5.903 x 10-23 g
Mass of a potassium (K) atom = 6.476 x 10-23 g
It is cumbersome to use this type of small figures in calculations.
For this reason, the mass of a selected atom was taken as a unit and the masses of
the other atoms were given relative to it. The mass so expressed is known as the
relative atomic mass. The relative atomic mass is not the true mass of an atom of
an element. In the past, the mass of an atom of hydrogen, the lightest element was
used as the atomic mass unit.

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• Atomic Mass Unit

The mass of the unit relative to which the masses of other atoms are expressed is
called the atomic mass unit.
12
1th the mass of
At present 12 C isotope is used as the atomic mass unit.
6
12
Mass of the 6C isotope
Atomic mass unit =
12
-23

= 1.99× 10 g
12
-24
= 1.67 × 10 g

How many times an atom of a given element weighs as much as 1/12 the mass
of C - 12 isotope is the relative atomic mass of that element.

Mass of an atom of the element

Relative atomic mass (Ar) = 1
× mass of a 12 6 C atom
12
For example, the true mass of an oxygen atom (O) is 2.66 x 10-23 g.
12
The true mass of a 66 C
12
C atom is 1.99 x 10-23 g. Therefore, the relative atomic mass
of oxygen can be found as follows.

Mass of an oxygen atom

Relative atomic mass of oxygen (O) = 1
× mass of a 12
6 C
atom
12
2.66 × 10-23g
= 1 -23
×1.99 × 10 g
12
= 16.02
According to foregoing calculations, you may understand that the relative atomic
mass has no units.

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yy Relative Atomic Masses of Some Elements

Atomic number Element Symbol Relative atomic mass

1 Hydrogen H 1
2 Helium He 4
3 Lithium Li 7
4 Beryllium Be 9
5 Boron B 11
6 Carbon C 12
7 Nitrogen N 14
8 Oxygen O 16
9 Fluorine F 19
10 Neon Ne 20
11 Sodium Na 23
12 Magnesium Mg 24
13 Aluminium Al 27
14 Silicon Si 28
15 Phosphorus P 31
16 Sulphur S 32
17 Chlorine Cl 35.5
18 Argon Ar 40
19 Potassium K 39
20 Calcium Ca 40

Worked Examples
01. The mass of a potassium (K) atom is 6.476 x 10-23 g' The mass of a
12
C atom is 1.99 x 10-23 g. Find the relative atomic mass of potassium.
6
Mass of potasium atom
Relative atomic mass of =
1
potassium × Mass of a 12
6 C
atom
12
-23
6.476× 10 g
== 1 -23
× 1.99 × 10 g
12
= = 39.00
39

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12
02. The mass of an atom of element A is eight times the mass of C
6
isotope. Find the relative atomic mass of A.
Mass of an atom of a
=
Relative atomic mass of A 1
× mass of a 12
6 C
atom
12
12
Mass of an atom of A = Mass of a 6 C atom x 8
 
Relative atomic mass of A  8 × Mass of 12
6 C atom 
==  
 1 × mass of a 12 C atom 
 12 6

== 8 × 12
== 96

03. Mass of a sodium atom is 3.819 x 10-23 g. The value of the atomic mass
unit is 1.67 x 10-24 g. Find the relative atomic mass of sodium.
Relative atomic mass of sodium Mass of a sodium atom
=
Value of the atomic mass unit
3.819 × 10-23g
=
1.67 × 10-24 g
= 23.00

7.2 Relative Molecular Mass (Mr)

Since many elements are reactive, their atoms do not exist as free atoms. They exist
naturally as molecules formed by joining two or more atoms of them. Compounds
are composed of molecules formed by the combination of atoms belonging to
different elements.

How many times a given molecule of an element or a compound weighs as much

as 1/12 the mass of C - 12 isotope is the relative molecular mass of that element or
compound.

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Relative molecular mass (Mr) Mass of a molecule of an element or a compound

=
1
× Mass of a 126 C atom
12
For instance, the true mass of a carbon dioxide (CO2) molecule is 7.31 x 10-23 g.
Mass of a carbon atom is 1.99 x 10-23 g.

Relative molecular mass of CO2 Mass of a molecule of a Carbon dioxide

= 1 × mass of a 12
6 C
atom
12
7.31 × 10-23 g
==
1
× 1.99 × 10-23 g
12
==44
44
As the relative atomic mass, relative molecular mass too does not have a unit.

The mass of a water molecule is (H2O) 2.99 x 10-23 g. Atomic mass unit is
1.67 x 10-24 g. Find the relative molecular mass of water.

Mass of a H2O molecule

Relative molecular mass of H2O =
Atomic mass unit
2.99 x 10-23 g
=
1.67 x 10-24 g
= 18
If the molecular formula of an element or a compound is known, its relative
molecular mass can be calculated. This is because the relative molecular mass is
equal to the sum of relative atomic masses of the atoms in a molecule.

For example a water molecule has two hydrogen atoms (H) and one oxygen atom
(O) bound together. Therefore, the relative molecular mass of water (H2O) is the
sum of the relative atomic masses of two hydrogen atoms and an oxygen atom.
Since the relative atomic mass of hydrogen is 1 and oxygen is 16, the relative
molecular mass of water can be calculated as follows.

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H2O = 2 x 1 + 16 = 18

Relative molecular masses of some elements and compounds are tabulated in Table
7.1.

Table 7'1
Species Molecular Relative molecular mass
formula
1. Hydrogen H2 2 x 1 = 2

2. Nitrogen N2 2 x 14 = 28

3. Oxygen O2 2 x 16 = 32

4. Carbon dioxide CO2 12 + (2x 16 ) = 44

5. Glucose C6H12O6 (6x12) + (12x1) + (6x16) = 180

Exercise 01
Calculate the relative molecular mass of the following compounds.

01' Ammonia (NH3)

Relative atomic masses H - 1 ; N - 14

02' Sulphuric acid (H2SO4 )

Relative atomic masses H - 1 ; O - 16 ; S - 32

03. Sucrose (C12H22O11)

Relative atomic masses H - 1 ; C - 12 ; O -16

The ionic compounds such as sodium chloride (NaCl) exist as lattices but not
molecules. Its formula is written to indicate the simplest ratio in which Na+ and
-
Cl ions are present in the ionic lattice. In such compounds what is calculated as the
relative molecular mass is the mass relevant to their empirical formula. It is known
as the relative formula mass or formula mass.

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Relative atomic mass Na - 23 ; Cl - 35.5

Relative formula mass of sodium chloride (NaCl) = 23 + 35.5

= 58.5
Exercise 02
Calculate the relative formula mass of the following compounds.

01. Magnesium oxide (MgO)

Relative atomic masses O - 16 ; Mg - 24

02. Calcium carbonate (CaCO3)

Relative atomic masses C - 12 ; O - 16 ; Ca - 40

03. Potassium sulphate (K2SO4)

Relative atomic masses O - 16 ; S - 32 ; K - 39

7.3 Avogadro constant

When a mass of any element equal to its relative atomic mass is taken in grams, it
is seen that it contains the same number of atoms irrespective of the element.

C Mg

12 g 24 g
H
6.022x10²³
1g
atoms Ag
Cl

35.5 g 108 g

Similarly, it can also be shown that when a mass of any substance equal to its rela-
tive molecular mass is taken in grams, it contains the same number of molecules.

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After the great scientist Amedeo Avogadro, this constant number is called Avoga-
dro Constant.

Cl2
H2
2g 71 g NH3
CO2
17 g
C6H12O6
44 g

180 g
6.022 x 1023
Molecules
H2SO4
SO2

64 g 98 g

The presently accepted value of this constant is 6.022 x 1023 and it is symbolised
as L .

7.4 Mole
In various tasks, measurement of the amount of a substance is a requirement. A
dozen of books means 12 books. Similarly 'ream' is used to measure the amount of
papers.

In the SI unit system, the unit used to measure the amount of a substance is the
mole.
The mole is the amount of a substance that contains as many basic building
units (atoms, molecules, ions) as there are atoms in exactly 12.00 g of C – 12
isotope.
The number of basic units contained in a mole of any substance is a constant and it
is equal to the Avogadro constant or 6.022 x 1023.
Thus, the relative atomic mass of any element taken in grams contains one mole of
atoms or 6.022 x 1023 atoms. The relative molecular mass of any substance taken in
grams contains one mole of molecules or 6.022 x 1023 molecules.

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Quantification of Elements and Compounds Chemistry

A mole of an element or a compound that exists as molecules means a mole of

molecules of them.
Since mole is a unit that indicates a very large amount, it is not suitable to measure
the amount of substances that we come across in day to day life. Therefore, the unit
mole is practically used to measure the amounts of things such as atoms, molecules
and ions which exist in very large numbers.
The following example illustrates the magnitude of the number representing a mole.
Suppose there are 1000 million children in the world. This in powers of ten is,
1000 million } 1000 x 106 } 109
If a mole of lozenges is equally distributed among these children,
6.022×1023
The number of lozenges each child gets =
109
= 6.022×1014
= 602200000000000
As the number of units belonging to a mole is very large, counting is impossible.
Therefore, other methods are used to measure the mole. One method to have a
mole of atoms of an element is weighing out its relative atomic mass in grams. For
example, the relative atomic mass of sodium is 23.

1 mol of sodium atoms = 23 g of sodium

In order to have a mole of molecules of a given compound, its relative molecular
mass has to be weighed out in grams. For instance, the relative molecular mass of
glucose (C6H12O6) is 180.
1 mol of glucose molecules = 180 g of glucose
• Molar Mass
Molar mass is the mass of a mole of any substance.
Though relative atomic mass and relative molecular mass have no units, grams per
mole (g mol-1) or kilograms per mole (kg mol-1) is the unit of the molar mass.

1. Relative atomic mass of sodium (Na) = 23

Molar mass of sodium = 23g mol-1

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2. Relative molecular mass of carbon dioxide (CO2) = 44

Molar mass of carbon dioxide = 44 g mol-1
3. Relative formula mass of sodium chloride (NaCl) = 58.5
Molar mass of sodium chloride = 58.5 g mol-1
4. Relative formula mass of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) = 100
Molar mass of calcium carbonate = 100 g mol-1

The following relationship can also be used to find the amount of any given
substance (number of moles).

Mass of the substance

Amount of substance =
(number of moles) Molar mass of the substance
m
n=
M

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Worked Examples

01' Find the number of atoms in 4 mol of carbon.

Number of atoms in 1 mol of carbon = 6.022 x 1023

Number of atoms in 4 mol of carbon = 6.022 x 1023 x 4
= 2.409 x 1024
02' Find,
i. the number of molecules;
ii. total number of atoms; and
iii. the number of oxygen atoms
in 5 mol of carbon dioxide.
i. Number of CO2 molecules in 1 mol of
carbon dioxide molecules = 6.022 x1023
Number of CO2 molecules in 5 mol of
carbon dioxide molecules = 6.022 x 1023 x 5
= 30.11 x 1023

= 3.011 x 1024

ii' Total number of atoms in a carbon dioxide molecule = 3

Total number of atoms in 5 mol of
carbon dioxide = 3.011 x 1024 x 3

= 9.033 x 1024

iii' Number of oxygen atoms in a carbon dioxide molecule = 2

Number of oxygen atoms in 5 mol of
carbon dioxide = 3.011 x 1024 x 2

= 6.022 x 1024

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03' Molar mass of carbon is 12 g mol-1' Find the amount of carbon in 10 g

of carbon.
Amount of carbon in 12 g of carbon = 1 mol
1 mol
Amount of carbon in 10 g of carbon = ×10 g
12 g
= 0.83 mol
04' Find the number of molecules in 0.1 mol of carbon dioxide.
Number of molecules in 1 mol of carbon dioxide = 6.022 x 1023
6.022 x 1023 x 0.1 mol
Number of molecules in 0.1 mol =
1 mol
= 6'022 « 1022

05' Relative molecular mass of oxygen (O2) is 32. Find the number of
oxygen molecules (O2) in 10 g of oxygen.
Number of molecules in 32 g of oxygen = 6.022 x 1023

Number of molecules in 10 g oxygen = 6.022 x1023 x 10g/ 32g
= 1.88 x 1023

06' Molar mass of water is 18 g mol-1. Find the amount of water in 20 g

of water.
Amount of water in 18 g of water = 1 mol
1 mol
Amount of water in 20 g of water = 18 g × 20 g

= 1.11 mol
07. Calculate the amount of carbon dioxide in 22 g of carbon dioxide (Molar
mass of carbon dioxide is 44 g mol-1)'
Amount of carbon dioxide in 44 g of carbon dioxide = 1 mol
1 mol
Amount of carbon dioxide in 22g of carbon dioxide = × 22 g
44 g
= 0.5 mol

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This can also be solved using the formula as follows.

m
n=
M
22 g
=
44 g mol-1
= 0.5 mol

08. Calculate the amount of carbon in 24 g of carbon. Molar mass of

carbon is 12 g mol-1'
Amount of carbon in 12 g of carbon = 1 mol
1 mol
Amount of carbon in 24 g of carbon = × 24 g
12 g
This can also be solved using the formula as follows. = 2 mol

m
n=
M
24 g
=
12 g mol-1
= 2 mol

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Summary

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Quantification of Elements and Compounds Chemistry

Exercises

01. Find the relative molecular mass of the following substances.

i. CH3OH (Methyl alcohol / Methanol)
ii. CS2 (Carbon disulphide)
iii. C8H18 (Octane)
iv. CH3COOH (Acetic acid)
v. C12H22O11 (Sucrose)
vi. CO(NH2)2 (Urea)
vii. C9H8O4 (Aspirin)
viii. HNO3 ^Nitric acid&
ix. CCl4 ^Carbon tetrachloride&
x. C8H9NO2 ^^Paracetamol&
(R.A.M ( H - 1, C - 12, N - 14, O - 16, S - 32, Cl - 35.5)

02. Find the molar mass of the following compounds.

i. CO2 ^Carbon dioxide&
ii. NaCl ^Sodium chloride&
iii. CaCO3 ^Calcium carbonate&
iv. NH4Cl ^Ammonium chloride&
v. Mg3N2 ^^Magnesium nitride&
vi. H2S ^Hydrogen sulphide)
vii. AlCl3 ^Aluminium chloride&
viii. (NH4)2CO3 ^Ammonium carbonate&
ix. CuSO4 (Copper sulphate&
x. Na2C2O4 ^Sodium oxalate&
R.A.M : H - 1, C - 12, N - 14, O - 16, Na - 23, Mg - 24, Al - 27, S - 32,
Cl - 35.5,Ca - 40, Cu - 63.5)

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03.
i. What is the amount of substance in moles in 12 g of magnesium (Mg) ?
ii. What is the amount of substance in moles in 10 g of calcium carbonate
(CaCO3 ) ?
iii. How many molecules are there in 5 mol of carbon dioxide (CO2) ?
iv. How many water molecules are present in 4 mol of water (H2O) @
v. What is the mass of 2 mol of urea (CO(NH2)2) ?

04. How many moles of oxygen atoms (O) does one mole of each of the
following compounds contain ?
i. Al2O3 ii. CO2 iii. Cl2O7
iv. CH3COOH v. Ba3(PO4)2

Technical terms
Atomic mass unit - mrudKql ialkaO tallh - AqzvoÄ A»S

Relative atomic mass - idfmalaI mrudKql ialkaOh - \õº AqzvoÄ

Relative molecular mass - idfmalaI wKql ialkaOh - \õº ‰»UTØÖz voÄ

Avogadro constant - wej.dâfrda ksh;h - AÁPõu÷µõ ©õÔ¼

Mole - ujq,h - ‰À

Molar mass - ujq,sl ialkaOh - ‰»ºzvoÄ

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