GeneralChemistry1 Q1 Mod4 Chemical-Formulas Ver-5
GeneralChemistry1 Q1 Mod4 Chemical-Formulas Ver-5
GeneralChemistry1 Q1 Mod4 Chemical-Formulas Ver-5
General Chemistry 1
Quarter 1 – Module 4
Determining Molar Mass and
Chemical Formulas
Source: https://bit.ly/3wLkW1o
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General Chemistry 1
Quarter 1 – Module 4
Determining Molar Mass and
Chemical Formulas
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(i.e., songs, stories, poems, pictures, photos, brand names, trademarks, etc.) included in this module are owned
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Table of Contents
Lesson 1:
Determining Molar Mass and Molecular Mass .....................................
What’s In ............................................................................................................... 1
Lesson 2:
Empirical Formula and Molecular Formula ............................................
What’s In ............................................................................................................... 6
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How to Learn from this Module
To achieve the objectives cited above, you are to do the following:
• Take your time reading the lessons carefully.
• Follow the directions and/or instructions in the activities and exercises diligently.
• Answer all the given tests and exercises.
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What I Know: (Pre-Assessment)
2. The molecular mass of carbon dioxide, CO2, is 44.01 amu. What is the molar mass of
CO2?
A. 44.01 g C. 44.01 mol
B. 44.01 g/mol D. 6.022 x 1023
9. A compound contains 5.9265% H and 94.0735% O. What is the empirical formula of the
compound?
A. H2O C. HO
B. H3O D. H2O2
10. If the molar mass of the compound in question 9 is 34.01468 g/mol, what is its molecular
formula?
A. H2O C. HO
B. H3O D. H2O2
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Lesson Determining Molar Mass and
1 Molecular Mass
What’s In
All the ideas in this lesson will rely on your understanding of the key concept to a unit
called the mole. In daily life, we measure things by counting or by weighing: we weigh rice and
flour, but we count eggs or ballpens. But how exactly can we count or weigh atoms, ions,
molecules, or formula units when all of them are minute objects? As you’ll see, chemists have
devised a unit called the mole, to count chemical entitles by weighing them.
What Is It
The mole (mol) is the SI unit for the amount of substance. It is defined as the amount
of a substance that contains the same number of atoms in 12 g of carbon-12. This number,
called Avogadro’s number (in honor of the Italian physicist Amadeo Avogadro), is enormous:
One mole 1(mol) contains 6.022x1023 entities
Thus, 1 mol of carbon-12 contains 6.022x1023 carbon-12 atoms. 1 mol of H2O contains
6.022x1023 H2O molecules. One mol of NaCl contains 6.022x1023 NaCl formula units.
Knowing the amount (in moles), the mass (in grams), and the number of entities becomes
very important as we mix different substances to run a reaction. The central relationship
between masses on the atomic scale and on the macroscopic scale is the same for elements
and compounds.
The mass in atomic mass units (amu) of one atom of an element is the same numerically
as the mass in grams (g) of 1 mole of atoms of the element. Each atom of an element is
considered to have the atomic mass given in the periodic table.
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S
32.07
Thus, 1 atom of Sulfur has a mass of 32.07 amu and 1 mol (6.022x1023 atoms) of
Sulfur has a mass of 32.07g. Similarly, the atomic mass of Br is 79.90 amu while its molar
mass is 79.90 g/mol. While it is true that 1 mole of different elements contains exactly the
same number of atoms (6.022 x 1023), they will not weigh the same. Just like 1 dozen of eggs
and 1 dozen of airplanes have the same number (12 units) but will not weigh the same. Figure
1 is an illustration of 1 mole of different elements.
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Figure 1. Mass in grams of 1 mole of different elements
Source: Albert McLaughlin https://bit.ly/3pas4SA
The Avogadro’s number can also be used to convert from atomic mass unit to the number
of moles and mass in grams.
Using the periodic table and the formula of a compound, we calculate the molecular
mass (also called molecular weight) of a formula unit of the compound as the sum of the
atomic masses:
Molecular mass = sum of atomic masses
For example, the molecular mass of a water molecule (using atomic masses to four
significant figures from the periodic table) is calculated as;
Another example would be calculating the molecular mass of tetraphosphorus trisulfide. First,
we write the formula, then multiply the number of atoms of each element by its atomic mass
(which we can find from the periodic table), and find the sum.
Formula: P4S3
Molecular mass = (4 x atomic mass of P) + (3 x atomic mass of S)
= (4 x 30.97 amu) + (3 x 32.07 amu) = 220.09 amu
From the molecular mass or formula mass, we can determine the molar mass of a
molecule or compound. Simply put, the molar mass (in grams) of a compound is numerically
equal to its molar mass in amu. In the same examples above, the molar mass of H 2O is 18.02
g/mol, P4S3 is 220.09 g/mol, and Ba(NO3)2 is 261.3 g/mol.
The mole is the basis of quantitative chemistry. It helps us convert easily between the
mass of a substance and the number of individual atoms, molecules, or formula units of that
substance. It also enables us to calculate the mass of a substance needed to obtain the
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desired number of atoms, molecules, or formula units. The flowchart below will help us in the
conversion:
Figure 2. Conversion of mass, number of moles, number of atoms, molecules, or formula units.
Source: https://bit.ly/3i6ctlh
What’s More
What’s More #2
2. Cesium chloride
Formula: _____________
3. Sulfuric acid
Formula: _____________
4. Potassium sulfate
Formula: _____________
5. Sodium oxide
Formula: _____________
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6. nitrogen dioxide
Formula: _____________
3. What is the difference between atomic mass, molecular mass, molar mass, and formula
mass?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
What I Can Do
Enrichment Exercises
Expand your understanding and enhance mastery of the lesson by doing the enrichment
exercises found in the links below. Write your complete solution on a separate sheet of paper,
and follow the proper way of writing units and significant figures.
https://bit.ly/34uW41V
https://bit.ly/2To0B3P
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Lesson Empirical Formula and
2 Molecular Formula
What’s In
You have learned from the previous lesson that a molecular mass is the sum
of the masses of all the elements of the compound. This is determined easily if we
know the chemical formula of the compound and the molar mass of each of the
elements present. This is not always the case in the real world. More often, chemists
can only experimentally determine the mass of the compound and the mass of each
element present in the compound, but the chemical formula of the compound is
unknown. How they determine the percent composition, the empirical formula, and the
molecular formula of the compound is what we are going to explore in this lesson.
What’s New
3. Glucose (C6H12O6)
What Is It
For example, in 1 mole of water (H2O), there are 2 moles of Hydrogen and 1 mole of
Oxygen. Using your periodic table, we will know the following molar masses: Oxygen:
16.00 g/mol, Hydrogen: 1.008 g/mol, and H 2O: 18.02 g/mol. We can then determine
the percent composition of water as:
2 𝑥 1.008 𝑔/𝑚𝑜𝑙
%𝐻 = 𝑥 100 = 11.19%
18.02 𝑔/𝑚𝑜𝑙
1 𝑥 16.00 𝑔/𝑚𝑜𝑙
%𝑂 = 𝑥 100 = 88.79%
18.02 𝑔/𝑚𝑜𝑙
Adding the 2 percentages, we get 99.98%. The discrepancy from 100% is due to the
rounding off numbers in the molar masses.
When the actual mass of a compound is given and you know the percent
composition of every element in the compound, we can also compute for the actual
mass of each element in the given amount of substance. For example, if there is 320
kg of Sodium chloride (NaCl), we can obtain the amount of Na in the given amount of
salt. The molar mass of Na is 22.99 g/mol, Cl is 35.45 g/mol, and NaCl is 58.44 g/mol.
The percent composition on Na is:
𝑔
22.99 𝑁𝑎
%𝑁𝑎 = 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑥100 = 39.31%
𝑔
58.48 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑁𝑎𝐶𝑙
The amount of Na in 320 kg of NaCl will be:
𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑁𝑎 𝑖𝑛 𝑁𝑎𝐶𝑙 = 0.3931 𝑥 320 𝑘𝑔 = 125.8 𝑘𝑔
What’s More
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What Is It
The following steps will serve as your guide in determining the empirical
formula:
1. Percent to Mass - When the percentage is given, we can assume the amount of
substance to 100g and convert the % into grams.
2. Mass to Mole - Convert the mass in grams to moles using the atomic mass of the
element. Get the smallest value.
3. Divide by Small - Divide all the values in step 2 to the smallest value.
4. Multiply ‘till Whole - Round off the subscripts in step 4 to closest whole number
ratio. If the ratio is still not a whole number, multiply the subscripts by a number to get
the smallest whole number (Adapted from https://bit.ly/3vBM02).
Let us practice the steps in this example from (Patalinghug, 2016). A compound
contains 7.81% C and 92.19% Cl. What is the empirical formula of the compound?
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The molecular formula of a compound can be obtained from the empirical
formula and the molecular mass of the compound. To find the molecular formula, we
follow the steps below:
1. Calculate the mass of the empirical formula.
2. Divide the given molar mass by the molecular mass computed from the empirical
formula.
3. Multiply the number by the subscripts of the empirical formula to get the subscripts
for the molecular formula (https://bit.ly/3i9yaBj).
Let us have another example from Patalinghug (2016), to illustrate the steps
above. A compound with a molar mass of 283.88 g/mol was found to contain 43.64%
P and 56.36% O. What is the empirical formula and molecular formula of the
compound? Atomic mass of P= 30.97 g/mol, O= 16.00 g/mol
In the above example, we will have to follow the steps for getting the empirical
formula first.
• Percent to mass: P: 43.64 g O: 56.36 g
• Mass to Mole:
1 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒 𝑃
43.64 𝑔 𝑃 𝑥 30.97 𝑔 𝑃 = 1.409 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑃
1 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒 𝑂
56.36 𝑔 𝑂 𝑥 16.00 𝑔 𝑂
= 3.523 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑂
• Divide by Small:
1.409 3.523
𝑃: 1.409 = 1 𝑂: = 2.5
1.409
To find the molecular mass, compare the mass of the empirical formula to the molar
mass (given):
Mass of P2O5 = 141.94 g/mol
Molar mass = 283.88 g/mol
𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 283.88 𝑔/𝑚𝑜𝑙
= =2
𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑖𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑢𝑙𝑎 141.94 𝑔/𝑚𝑜𝑙
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What’s More
SUMMARY
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Assessment: (Post-Test)
Directions: Read and understand each item and choose the letter of the correct answer.
Write your answer on a separate sheet of paper.
3. The molecular mass of carbon dioxide, CO2, is 44.01 amu. What is the molar mass of
CO2?
A. 44.01 g C. 44.01 mol
B. 44.01 g/mol D. 6.022 x 1023
7. A compound contains 5.9265% H and 94.0735% O. What is the empirical formula of the
compound?
A. H2O C. HO
B. H3O D. H2O2
8. If the molar mass of the compound in question 7 is 34.01468 g/mol, what is its molecular
formula?
A. H2O C. HO
B. H3O D. H2O2
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Lesson 2 What's more: %
What’s More: Calculating Molecular Composition Exercise
Mass 1. Ba: 65.96%, Cl: 34.04%
1. Hydrogen peroxide 2. C: 40.92%, H: 4.58%, O: 54.50%
Formula: H2O2 3. C
Molecular mass: 34.02 g/mol
What's more: Formula Computation
2. Cesium chloride
Formula: CsCl 1. a. C: 60.00% b. 35.53%
Molecular mass: 168.36 g/mol 2. Cr2O7
3. a. N2O3 b. N2O3
3. Sulfuric acid
Formula: H2SO4
Molecular mass: 98.08 g/mol
Pre-Test Post-Test
4. Potassium sulfate 1. B 1. A
Formula: K2SO4 2. B 2. B
Molecular mass: 174.26 g/mol 3. A 3. B
4. D 4. C
5. Sodium oxide 5. B 5. D
Formula: Na2O 6. C 6. B
Molecular mass: 61.98 g/mol 7. B 7. C
8. D 8. D
6. Nitrogen dioxide 9. C
Formula: NO2 9. B
10. D 10. D
Molecular mass: 46.01 g/mol
Key to Answers
REFERENCES:
“3.4: Determing an Empirical and Molecular Formula”. Chemistry LibreTexts. Retrieved from
https://bit.ly/34vJv6y
Patalinghug, Wyona C., Camacho, Vic Marie I., Sevilla, Fortunato B., Singson, Maria Cristina
D. Teaching Guide for Senior High School: General Chemistry I. Commission on Higher
Education. Quezon City, Philippines, 2016
“The Relationships among Moles, Masses, and Formula Units of Compounds in the
Balanced Chemical Reaction for the Ammonium Dichromate Volcano”. Retrieved from
https://bit.ly/3wLkW1o
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