David Wales 2011

Every chemistry student should have a good understanding of the principle of moles. In much the same way that a dozen refers to 12 things, or that the metric prex kilo refers to 1000, a mole refers to 6.022 x 1023 elementary entities. In other words, a mole of rice is 6.022 x 1023 rice grains, and a mole of CO2 is 6.022 x 1023 CO2 molecules. This number is known as Avogadros number. However, in HSC chemistry, students rarely work with Avogadros number. Instead, they are expected to use a series of formulae to convert from moles to grams, or moles to volumes and vice versa. The basic formulae are as follows: n = m/M where n = moles, m = mass and M = molar mass. n = v/V where n = moles, v = volume and V = molar volume c = n/v where c = concentration, n = moles and v = volume. The following example demonstrates how they are used in an HSC style question: (a) Write a balanced chemical equation for the complete combustion of ethanol. (b) A mass of 72.5 g of ethanol was burn completely in air. Calculate the volume of carbon dioxide that was produced at 25 and 100 kPa. The rst step is to write down the chemical equation. C2H5OH + 3O2 2CO2 + 3H2O The chemical equation tells us the ratios of the different molecules or atoms involved in the reaction. Because chemical equations are ratios, it is just as valid to compare the number of moles as it is to compare the number of atoms. However, the question didnt tell us the number of moles, or the number of atoms of ethanol. First we must convert 72.5 g to moles, then use the ratios from the equation to nd the number of moles of CO2, then convert this to volume. The rst formula gives the relationship between moles, mass, and molar mass as follows: C n = m/M, where n is moles, m is the mass of the substance, and M is the molar 12.01 mass of the substance. Before we can use this formula to calculate the number of moles of ethanol, we need to know the molar mass of ethanol. For this we need a periodic table. A look at the entry for carbon shows two numbers. You should know that the smaller number at the top is the atomic number, which is equal to the number of protons in the element, and that the larger number at the bottom is the average atomic mass, in atomic mass units. What you may not know, is that 1 mole of carbon weighs 12.01 grams. Thus the average atomic mass gives both the mass of a single atom, in atomic mass units AND the mass of one mole of the element in grams. The molar mass of carbon is 12.01 grams. Similarly, the molar mass of hydrogen is 1.008 grams, and the molar mass of oxygen is 16.00 grams.
6

This allows us to calculate the molar mass of ethanol. Ethanol has 2 carbon atoms, 6 hydrogen atoms, and 1 oxygen atom, and its molar mass is given as follows: 2(12.01)+6(1.008)+16.00 = 46.068 grams.

 David Wales 2011

We are now able to calculate the number of moles of ethanol. n = m/M n = 72.5/46.068 n = 1.576 mol. (to four signicant gures.) (Although you should always write down each step of a problem, you should also store the original values in you calculators memory, to preserve accuracy. In this example, I have based subsequent calculations on the rounded gures shown, but in an exam, you should write the rounded gures on your paper, and use the full accuracy of the calculator gures in your calculations.) From the chemical equation, the ratio of ethanol to carbon dioxide is 1:2. Therefore for 1.576 moles of ethanol, there will be 3.15 moles of carbon dioxide. We now need to convert moles to litres. In this case, the relevant formula is n = v/V, where n is moles, v is volume in litres, and V is molar volume in litres. The data sheet which is included in every chemistry paper gives the molar volume of an ideal gas under standard temperature and pressure as 24.79 litres. The calculations are as follows: n = v/V 3.15 = v/24.79 v = 3.15 x 24.79 v = 78.1 litres (to three signicant gures.) Thus the volume of carbon dioxide produced at 25 and 100kPa is 78.1 litres (to three signicant gures).