Amount of Substance
Edited by Jamie (ScienceAid Editor), Taylor (ScienceAid Editor), Jen Moreau
In this article we will be looking at the how, in Chemistry, we calculate and represent amounts of substance and chemical reactions quantitatively.
Measuring
RAM
- 1RAM stands for relative atomic mass (Ar), and stands for the average mass of an atom, relative to 1/12 of carbon-12. This is effectively is the same as the mass number, but averaged out so that the RAM of chlorine is 35.5 because 25% has a mass of 37 and 75% a mass of 35. This is calculated using a mass spectrometer.RAM.Advertisement
RFM
RFM stands for relative formula mass (Mr). This is the sum of the RAMs of all the elements in a molecule. I.e. it is the mass of the molecule. These two measurements are used in Chemistry because it is more accurate.
The Mole
The mole is a unit of molecules (where it gets its name) to help chemists. A mole is 6.02 x 1023 atoms/molecules. This number is known as Avogadro's constant. A mole of any substance has the mass of the its RAM/RFM, making calculation quite easy. This is the main function of the mole. The following are some examples of questions to help you understand how to use the mole.
- What is the mass of 1 mole of chlorine?
- 35.5g
- What is the mass of 0.5 moles of lead nitrate, Pb(NO3)2?
- 0.5 x [207 2(14+48)] =165.5g
- What is the mass of 5 moles of carbon?
- =5 x 12 = 60g
- How many moles are there in 4g of bromine?
- 20 / 80 = 0.25 moles
- How many moles are there in 6.4g of sulphur dioxide?
- (32 + 16 + 16) / 6.4 = 0.1 moles
Calculating concentrations is very simple. You use the following formula:
The key to getting your brain around moles, is to do lots of practice exercises. You should be able to find these in your textbook or you may wish to get a practice book of exercises.
Ideal Gas Equation
The ideal gas equation is an equation that links pressure, volume, moles, the gas constant and temperature, for calculations. Here it is:
The units you use to do the calculation are very specific, and sometimes requires some converting to get it to work. Below are some explanations of what they are and how to use them.
- 1The pressure is measured in Pascals, this is the same as Newtons per metre squared.Pressure.
- 2The volume is measured in metres cubed m3.Volume.
- 3The gas constant is 8.31. This number does not change regardless of what the other numbers are.Gas Constant.
- 4The temperature is measured in kelvin. This is a scale of temperature where 0K is absolute zero and it is impossible to get a negative value on the kelvin scale. 273.15K is 0oC.Temperature.
Types of Formulae
There are two types of formula that we use.
Empirical Formula
The first is the empirical formula which is the basic ratio of molecules to each other in its simplest form. You can calculate this as follows:
- 1Find the empirical formula of a compound where, by mass C = 85.7%, H=14.3%.
- 2Convert the percentages to mass in terms of 100g (85.7g 14.3g).
- 3C = 7.1, H = 14.3Then you divide the masses by the Ar values.
- 4Now you must divide by the smallest number in this case it is 7.1
- 5So the empirical formula is CH2.
Molecular Formula
The second type of formula is molecular formula. This is the actual number of atoms in the molecule.
Referencing this Article
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APA (American Psychological Association)
Amount of Substance. (2017). In ScienceAid. Retrieved Jun 4, 2023, from https://scienceaid.net/chemistry/fundamental/substance.html
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Categories : Fundamental
Recent edits by: Taylor (ScienceAid Editor), Jamie (ScienceAid Editor)