Higher Tier Only

The Mole
The Mole

 Chemical amounts are measured in moles

 The symbol for the unit mole is mol
 One mole of a substance contains the same number of the stated particles, atoms,
molecules, or ions as one mole of any other substance
 The number of atoms, molecules or ions in a mole (1 mol) of a given substance is the
Avogadro constant. The value of the Avogadro constant is 6.02 x 1023 per mole

For example:

 One mole of sodium (Na) contains  6.02 x 1023  atoms of sodium

 One mole of hydrogen (H2) contains  6.02 x 1023  molecules of hydrogen
 One mole of sodium chloride (NaCl) contains  6.02 x 1023 formula units of sodium
chloride

Exam Tip

You need to appreciate that the measurement of amounts in moles can apply to atoms,
molecules, ions, electrons, formulae and equations. E.g. in one mole of carbon (C) the number of
atoms is the same as the number of molecules in one mole of carbon dioxide (CO2).

Linking the Mole and the Atomic Mass

 One mole of any element is equal to the relative atomic mass of that element in grams
 This is called the molar mass
 If you had 6.02 x 1023 atoms of carbon in your hand, that number of carbon atoms would
have a mass of 12 g (because the Ar of carbon is 12)
 So one mole of helium atoms would have a mass of 4 g (Ar of He is 4), one mole of
lithium would have a mass of 7 g (Ar of Li is 7) and so on
 To find the mass of one mole of a compound, we add up the relative atomic masses
o So one mole of water would have a mass of (2 x 1) + 16 = 18 g
o So one carbon atom has the same mass as 12 hydrogen atoms

Exam Tip

Remember the key link between moles and mass: one mole of any element is equal to that
elements atomic mass in grams.

Higher Tier Only

Calculating Moles & Masses
  Although elements and chemicals react with each other in molar ratios, in the laboratory
we use digital balances and grams to measure quantities of chemicals as it is impractical
to try and measure out moles
 Therefore we have to be able to convert between moles and grams
 We can use the following formula to convert between moles, mass in grams and the
molar mass:

Formula triangle for moles, mass and molar mass

Worked Example

What is the mass of 0.250 moles of zinc?

Answer:


o From the periodic table the relative atomic mass of Zn is 65.38
o So, the molar mass is 65.38 g mol-1
o The mass is calculated by moles x molar mass
o This comes to 0.250 mol x 65.38 g mol-1 = 16.3 g

Worked Example

How many moles are in 2.64 g of sucrose, C12H11O22  (Mr = 342.3)?

Answer:


o The molar mass of sucrose is 342.3 g mol-1
o The number of moles is found by mass ÷ molar mass
o This comes to  2.64 g ÷ 342.3 g mol-1 = 7.71 x 10-3 mol

Exam Tip

Always show your workings in calculations as its easier to check for errors and you may pick up
credit if you get the final answer wrong.

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 Amounts of Substances in Equations

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Calculating Masses from Balanced Equations

 Chemical equations can be used to calculate the moles or masses of reactants and products

 To do this, information given in the question is used to find the amount in moles of the
substances being considered
 Then, the ratio between the substances is identified using the balanced chemical equation
 Once the moles have been determined they can then be converted into grams using the
relative atomic or relative formula masses

Worked Example

Example 1

Calculate the mass of magnesium oxide that can be made by completely burning 6.0 g of magnesium
in oxygen in the following reaction:

2Mg (s) + O2 (g)  ⟶ 2 MgO (s) 

Answer

Worked Example

Example 2

Calculate the mass of aluminium, in tonnes, that can be produced from 51 tonnes of aluminium
oxide. The equation for the reaction is:

2Al2O3  ⟶  4Al +  3O2 

Answer
Balancing Equations using Reacting Masses
  If the masses of reactants and products of a reaction are known then we can use them to write
a balanced equation for that reaction
 This is done by converting the masses to moles and simplifying to find the molar ratios

Worked Example

Example 3

A student reacts 1.2 g of carbon with 16.2 g of zinc oxide. The resulting products are 4.4 g of carbon
dioxide and 13 g of zinc. Determine the balanced equation for the reaction.

Answer
Exam Tip

These questions look hard but they are actually quite easy to do, as long as you follow the steps and
organise your work neatly.
Remember the molar ratio of a balanced equation gives you the ratio of the amounts of each
substance in the reaction.

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Higher Tier Only

Using Moles to Balance Equations

 Stoichiometry refers to the numbers in front of the reactants and products in an equation,

which must be adjusted to make sure that the equation is balanced
  These numbers are called coefficients (or multipliers) and if we know the masses of reactants
and products, the balanced chemical equation for a given reaction can be found by
determining the coefficients
 First, convert the masses of each reactant and product in to moles by dividing by the molar
masses using the periodic table
 If the result yields uneven numbers, then multiply all of the numbers by the same number, to
find the smallest whole number for the coefficient of each species
o For example, if the resulting numbers initially were 1, 2 and 2.5, then you would
multiply all of the numbers by 2, to give the whole numbers 2, 4 and 5
 Then, use the molar ratio to write out the balanced equation

Worked Example

64 g of methanol, CH3OH, reacts with 96 g of oxygen gas to produce 88 g of carbon dioxide and 72 g
of water. Deduce the balanced equation for the reaction.

(C = 12, H = 1, O = 16)

Answer


o Calculate the molar masses of the substances in the equation

CH3OH = 32 g mol-1         O2 = 32 g mol-1        

CO2 =  44 g mol-1             H2O =  18 g mol-1  


o Divide the masses present by the molar mass to obtain the number of moles

CH3OH = 64 g ÷ 32 g mol-1  =  2 mol 

O2 = 96 g ÷ 32 g mol-1          =  3 mol   

CO2 =  88 g ÷ 44 g mol-1      =  2 mol

H2O =  72 g ÷ 18 gmol-1       =  4 mol


o The mole ratios are the same as the coefficients in the balanced equation

2CH3OH  +  3O2  ⟶ 2CO2 + 4H2O

Exam Tip

The molar ratio of a balanced equation gives you the ratio of the amounts of each substance in the
reaction.
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Higher Tier Only

Limiting & Excess Reactant

 A chemical reaction does not go on indefinitely and stops when one of the reagents is used up
 The reagent that is used up first is the limiting reactant, as it limits the duration of the
reaction and hence the amount of product that a reaction can produce
 The one that is remaining is the excess reactant
 The limiting reagent is the reactant which is not present in excess in a reaction
 The amount of product obtainable is therefore directly proportional to the amount of the
limiting reagent added at the beginning of a reaction
 So if you use half of the limiting reagent then you will get half of the product, provided the
other reagents are present in excess. If you double the amount of the limiting reagent then
you obtain double the amount of product

Higher Tier Only

Determining the Limiting Reactant

 In order to determine which reactant is the limiting reagent in a reaction, we have to consider
the amounts of each reactant used and the molar ratio of the balanced chemical equation
 When performing reacting mass calculations, the limiting reagent is always the number that
should be used, as it indicates the maximum possible amount of product that can form
o Once all of a limiting reagent has been used up, the reaction cannot continue
 The steps are:

1.
1. Convert the mass of each reactant into moles by dividing by the molar masses
2. Write the balanced equation and determine the molar ratio
3. Look at the equation and compare the moles

Worked Example

In a reaction to produce sodium sulfide, Na 2S, 9.2 g of sodium is reacted with 8.0 g of sulfur. Which
reactant is in excess and which is limiting?

Answer
Exam Tip

For a reactant to be present in excess, there only needs to be slightly more of it present than the other
reactant, as determined from the molar ratio. In a two reactant system, if one reactant is in excess
then the other is by default the limiting reagent.

A common error is to determine the limiting reactant as the reactant with the least amount of moles
in the molar ratio. This is incorrect as the masses of each reactant must also be considered.

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 Concentrations of Solutions
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Expressing Concentration

 A solid substance that dissolves in a liquid is called a solute, the liquid is called a solvent and
the two when mixed together form a solution
 Most chemical reactions occur between solutes which are dissolved in solvents, such as water
or an organic solvent
 Concentration simply refers to the amount of solute there is in a specific volume of the
solvent
 The greater the amount of solute in a given volume then the greater the concentration
 A general formula for concentration is thus:

 Concentration can be measured in grams per cubic decimetre

  1 decimetre cubed (dm3) = 1000 cm3
o 1 decimetre cubed (dm3) is the same as 1 litre
 You may be given data in a question which needs to be converted from cm 3 to dm3 or the
other way around
o
 To go from cm3 to dm3 :
 Divide by 1000
 To go from dm3 to cm3 :
 Multiply by 1000

Calculating Concentration in Mass per Volume

 To calculate the concentration of a solution in terms of mass per unit volume, you need to
o Identify the solute and solvent
o Convert the volume units into decimetres cubed
o Divide the mass of the solute by the volume of the solution in decimetres cubed

Worked Example

A student dissolved 10 g of sodium hydroxide, NaOH, in 2 dm 3 of distilled water. Calculate the
concentration of the solution.

Answer 
Exam Tip

Be careful when doing volume unit conversions as it is easy to multiply instead of dividing by 1000
and vice-versa. Always ask yourself – is the result going to be a bigger or smaller number than I
started with? Do I get more or fewer cubic decimetres when I convert from cubic centimetres?

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 Percentage Yield
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Obtaining Calculated Masses: Basics

 Yield is the term used to describe the amount of product you get from a reaction
 In practice, you never get 100% yield in a chemical process for several reasons
 These include:
o Some reactants may be left behind in the equipment
o The reaction may be reversible and in these reactions a high yield is never possible
as the products are continually turning back into the reactants
o Some products may also be lost during separation and purification stages such as
filtration or distillation
o There may be side reactions occurring where a substance reacts with a gas in the air
or an impurity in one of the reactants
o Products can also be lost during transfer from one container to another
Actual & Theoretical Yield

 The actual yield is the recorded amount of product obtained

 The theoretical yield is the amount of product that would be obtained under perfect practical
and chemical conditions
 It is calculated from the balanced equation and the reacting masses
 The percentage yield compares the actual yield to the theoretical yield
 For economic reasons, the objective of every chemical producing company is to have as high
a percentage yield as possible to increase profits and reduce costs and waste

Exam Tip

Although it’s very rare that they are equal, an efficient and well managed chemical process will
produce an actual yield that is close to the theoretical yield.

Calculating Percentage Yield

 The percentage yield is a good way of measuring how successful a chemical process is

 There are often several methods of creating a compound and each method is called
a reaction pathway
 Reaction pathways consist of a sequence of reactions which must occur to produce the
required product
 Companies often investigate and try out different reaction pathways and these are
then compared and evaluated so that a manufacturing process can be chosen
 The percentage yield of each pathway is a significant factor in this decision making process
 The equation to calculate the percentage yield is:

Worked Example

Worked Example

Copper(II)sulfate may be prepared by the reaction of dilute sulfuric acid on copper(II)oxide. A

student prepared 1.6 g of dry copper(II)sulfate crystals. Calculate the percentage yield if the
theoretical yield is 2.0 g.

Answer


 o Actual yield of copper(II)sulfate = 1.6 g
o Percentage yield of copper(II)sulfate = (1.6 / 2.0) x 100
o Percentage yield = 80%

Exam Tip

The actual yield can be determined by experiment only, while the theoretical yield can be calculated
assuming there is 100% conversion of reactants to products.

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Theoretical Masses of Products

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Obtaining Calculated Masses

 We can obtain theoretical masses of products using a balanced equation and a given mass of
reactant
 The process is as follows:

1.
1. Write out the balanced equation for the reaction(if not already given in the question)
2. Convert the given mass of reactant(s) into moles, by dividing the masses by the molar
masses
3. Use the coefficients(multipliers) in the equation to deduce the number of moles of the
product(s)
4. Convert the moles of product into mass by multiplying by the molar mass

 The following example illustrates the process:

Worked Example

In an experiment to displace copper from copper(II)sulfate, 6.5g of zinc was added to a solution of
copper(II)sulfate. The copper was filtered off, washed, dried and weighed. the final mass of copper
obtained was 4.8 g. Calculate the percentage yield of copper.

The balanced equation for the reaction is

Zn (s) + CuSO4 (aq)  ⟶ Cu (s) + ZnSO4 (aq)

Answer
Exam Tip
The key to success in all calculations is to have a methodical step-by-step approach and show all
your workings. Be careful when working out the molar masses not to include coeffiecients. It is very
easy to make the mistake of calculating the molar mass of magnesium oxide as 80 g instead of 40 g,
when working from an equation:

2Mg (s) + O2 (g) → 2MgO (s)

(Mg = 24 g mol−1; O = 16 g mol−1 )

Remember that molar masses are calculated from chemical formulae, not from equations

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Calculating Atom Economy

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Calculating Atom Economy

 Along with the percentage yield, atom economy is used to analyse the efficiency of reactions
 Most reactions produce more than one product and very often some of them are not useful
 Atom economy studies the amount of reactants that get turned into useful products
 It illustrates what percentage of the mass of reactants become useful products
 It is used extensively in the analysis of systems and procedures in industries, in an effort to
obtain sustainable development
 It is also a very important analysis for economic reasons as companies prefer to use
processes with higher atom economies
 The higher the atom economy of a process then the more sustainable that process is
 The equation for calculating atom economy is:

Worked Example

Hydrogen gas is obtained from methane in a process called steam-methane reforming. The reaction is
as follows:

CH4 (g) + H2O (g) → CO (g) + 3H2 (g)

Calculate the atom economy of this reaction.

Answer

Exam Tip

Unwanted byproducts can sometimes be put to use so although a low atom economy is a sign that a
process is not green (sustainable) it doesn’t necessarily imply that the process is not economically
viable.
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Choosing a Reaction Pathway

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Choosing a Reaction Pathway

 Reactions that have low atom economies use up a lot of resources and produce a lot of waste
material which then needs to be disposed of, a very expensive procedure
 These reactions are thus unsustainable as they use up too much raw material to manufacture
only a small amount of product
 They are not economically attractive as raw materials tend to be expensive, as does waste
disposal which requires chemicals, equipment, space and transport
 Companies continually analyse reactions and processes and evaluate several factors in an
effort to improve efficiency
 Atom economy, percentage yield, rates of reaction and equilibrium position are important
factors which need to be considered when choosing a reaction pathway
 High percentage yields and fast reaction rates are desirable attributes in industrial chemical
processes
 In reversible reactions, the position of the equilibrium may need to be changed in favour of
the products by altering reaction conditions
 If the waste products can be sold or reused in some way that would improve the atom
economy
 Alternative methods of production could also be considered that may produce a more useful
by-product

Exam Tip

Look for information on percentage yield, atom economy, rate and equilibria in questions on this
topic. Your answer should then be based on evaluating (for example by comparing the pros and cons
of) this information.

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 Using Concentrations in mol/dm3

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Concentration of Solutions in Moles

 It is more useful to a chemist to express concentration in terms of moles per unit volume rather
than mass per unit volume
 Concentration can therfore be expressed in moles per decimetre cubed
 We can modify the concentration formula to include moles
o The units in the answer can be written as mol dm -3 or mol / dm3:
  You may have to convert from g dm-3 into mol dm-3 and vice versa depending on the question
o To go from g dm-3 to mol dm-3:
 Divide by the molar mass in grams
o To go from mol dm-3 to g dm-3:
 Multiply by the molar mass in grams

Exam Tip

Don’t forget your unit conversions:

To go from cm3 to dm3 : divide by 1000

To go from dm3 to cm3 : multiply by 1000

Higher Tier Only

Calculating Concentration from Reacting Solutions

 Solving problems on concentrations involves carefully working out moles and volumes in the
correct units and applying the concentration formula
 Some students find formula triangles help them to understand the relaitonship:
 The concentration-moles formula triangle can help you solve these problems

 The following examples show how to do this step-by-step

Worked Example

Example 1

Calculate the amount of solute, in moles, present in 2.5 dm3 of a solution whose concentration is
0.2 mol dm-3.

Answer 
 Worked Example

Example 2

Calculate the concentration of a solution of sodium hydroxide, NaOH, in mol dm-3, when 80 g is
dissolved in 400 cm3 of water.

(Na= 23, H= 1, O= 16)

Answer
Titration Calculations

 If the concentration of one of the reactants is known (either the acid or the base), then
the exact volumes from a titration along with the balanced chemical equation for the reaction
can be used to calculate the concentration of the other reactant

Worked Example

Example 3

25.0 cm3 of a solution of 0.05 mol dm-3  sodium carbonate was completely neutralised by 20.00
cm3 of dilute hydrochloric acid. Calculate the concentration of the hydrochlroric acid in mol cm-3

Answer
Exam Tip

You are not given the concentration-moles formula triangle in exams so you have to learn it. It is
a good idea to write it down before you start a problem, so you get all the parts in the correct
place.

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 Amount of Substance in Relation to Volumes of Gases

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Calculating Gas Volumes

Avogadro’s Law
 Avogadro’s Law states that at the same conditions of temperature and pressure, equal
amounts of gases occupy the same volume of space
 At room temperature and pressure, the volume occupied by one mole of any gas was found to
be 24 dm3 or 24,000 cm3
 This is known as the molar gas volume at RTP
 RTP stands for “room temperature and pressure” and the conditions are 20ºC and 1
atmosphere (atm)
 From the molar gas volume the following formula triangle can be derived:
Formula triangle showing the relationship between moles of gas, volume in dm 3 and the molar
volume

 If the volume is given in cm3 instead of dm3, then divide by 24,000 instead of 24:
 Formula triangle showing the relationship between moles of gas, volume in cm 3  and the molar
volume

 The formula can be used to calculate the number of moles of gases from a given volume or
vice versa
 Simply cover the one you want and the triangle tells you what to do

To find the volume

Volume = Moles x Molar Volume

Examples of Converting Moles into Volumes Table

To find the moles

Moles = Volume ÷ Molar Volume

Examples of Converting Volumes into Moles Table

Higher Tier Only
Calculations Involving Reacting Gases

 You may be asked to calculate the volume of a gas from a given amount stated in grams
instead of moles
 To answer these type of questions you must first convert grams to moles and then calculate
the volume.

Worked Example

Example 1

What is the volume of 154 g of nitrogen gas at RTP?

Answer 
  A second style of gas calculation involves calculating the volumes of gaseous reactants and
products from a balanced equation and a given volume of a gaesous reactant or product
 These problems are straightforward as you are applying Avogadro’s Law, so the moles ( and
cofficients) in equations are in the same ratio as the gas volumes

Worked Example

Example 2

The complete combustion of propane gives carbon dioxide and water vapour as the products

C3H8 (g) + 5O2 (g) → 3CO2 (g) + 4H2O (g)

Determine the volume of oxygen needed to react with 150 cm 3 of propane and the total volume of the
gaseous products

Answer


o The balanced equation shows that 5 moles of oxygen are needed to completely react
with 1 mole of propane
o Therefore the volume of oxygen needed would be = 5 moles x 150 cm 3 = 750 cm3
o The total number of moles of gaseous products is = 3 + 4 = 7 moles
o The total volume of gaseous products would be = 7 moles x 150 cm3 = 1050 cm3

Exam Tip
Make sure you use the correct units as asked by the question when working through reacting gas
volume questions.

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