The Mole

Empirical & Molecular Formulas

Zumdahl 3.5

Quantities, Units, & Symbols

Quantity Symbol Unit Symbol mass m gram g n mole mol amount grams/mole g/mol molar mass M number of (atoms, ions, N particles molecules, formula units)

Empirical Formula
n

empirical formula the simplest whole-number ratio of the elements in a compound molecular formula the actual number of atoms of each element in a molecular compound. e.g. octane

molecular formula: C 8H 18 empirical formula: C 4H 9

Identifying an Unknown Compound

Combustion Analyzer Empirical Formulas

furnace absorption modules

O2 in

sample

absorbs H 2O
Mg (ClO4 )2

absorbs CO2
(Na OH )

n Weigh the modules before & after combustion to

measure the mass of combustion products.

Deter mining Percent Composition from Combustion Analyzer data example:

A 0.3629 g sample of X-036-2012, when burned produces 1.067 g CO2 and 0.3120 g H2O. What is its percent composition?

Percent Composition
Plan: g CO2 mol CO2 mol C g C %C in sample and g H2O mol H2O mol H g H %H in sample

g C = 1.067 g CO2 x

1 mol CO2 44.01 g CO2

x 1 mol C x 12.01 g C 1 mol C 1 mol CO2 = 0.2912 g C 0.2912 g C x 100 0.3629 g sample

mass % C =

= 80.24 % C

g H = 0.3120 g H 2O x x = 0.0349 g H mass % H =

1 mol H 2O 18.01 g H 2O 2 mol H 1.008 g H x 1 mol H 2O 1 mol H

0.0349 g H x 100 0.3629 g sample

= 9.62 % H

% O = 100.00 - %C - %H = 100.00 - 80.24 - 9.62 = 10.14 % \ Percent composition of sample X-036-2012 80.24 % C 9.62 % H 10.14 % O

Deter mining Empir ical For mula example:

What is the empirical formula of a compound with the following percent composition?
80.24 % C 9.62 % H 10.14 % O
n n

The empirical formula is CxH yOz . But what are x, y and z?

(1) Find the moles of each element Need mass of each element \ Assume a 100 g sample, and use percent composition: 80.24 g C x 9.62 g H x 10.14 g O x 1 mol C 12.01 g C

80.24 % C 9.62 % H 10.14 % O

= 6.68 mol C

1 mol H = 9.54 mol H 1.01 g H 1 mol O = 0.634 mol O 16.00 g O

(2) Divide each amount by the smallest amount C 6.68 = 10.5 0.634 H 9.54 = 15 0.634

C xH yOz C 10.5H 15O x 2* C 21H 30O2

empirical formula

0.634 = 1.0 O 0.634

* If necessary, multiply by a facto r to get whole nu mbers.

Practice
n

p125 # 61, 63, 65, 71*

Mass Spectrometer

n T he stronger the magnetic field needed to deflect the

particle the heavier the p article must be.

Determining Molecular Formula

example:
Determine the molecular formula for a compound which is 30.2% N, the rest oxygen, and has a molar mass of 92.0 g/mol.

(1) Take the percentage of the molar mass for each element
30.2 N 92.0 g/mol = 27.78 g/mol 100

O 69. 8 92.0 g/mol = 64.21 g/mol 100

(100% - 30 .2% = 69 .8%)

(2) Convert each elements molar mass into a mole ratio N 27.78 g/mol 14.0 g/mol = 1.98 O 64.21 g/mol 16.0 g/mol = 4.01
2 4 molecular formula

NO

Practice
n

p125 # 67, 69, 73