Chem 16 General Chemistry 1

06 Stoichiometry and Chemical Equations

Dr. Gil C. Claudio

First Semester 2014-2015
Table of Contents

Contents
1 Chemical Compounds and Their Formulas

2 The Mole Concept

3 Determining the Formula of an Unknown Compound

References
References of these notes
General Chemistry, 10th ed, by Ralph H. Petrucci, F. Geoffrey Herring,
Jeffy D. Madura, and Carey Bisonnette.

1 Chemical Compounds and Their Formulas

Molecular Compounds
A molecular compound is a compound comprised of discrete molecules.
A chemical formula represents the relative numbers of atoms of each
kind in a substance through symbols and numerical subscripts.
Formulas of Compounds
An empirical formula is the simplest chemical formula that can be written
for a compound, that is, having the smallest integral subscripts possible.
A molecular formula denotes the numbers of the different atoms present in
a molecule. In some cases the molecular formula is the same as the empirical
formula; in others it is an integral multiple of that formula.
Examples
formaldehyde CH2 O, acetic acid C2 H4 O2 , and glucose C6 H12 O6 .
Structural Formula
A structural formula for a compound indicates which atoms in a molecule
are bonded together, and whether by single, double, or triple bonds.
Structural formulas for formaldehyde CH2 O, acetic acid C2 H4 O2 , and
glucose C6 H12 O6 .
Lewis structure plus shape.

Ionic Compounds
An ionic compound is a compound consisting of positive and negative
ions that are held together by electrostatic forces of attraction.
A formula unit is the smallest collection of atoms or ions from which
the empirical formula of a compound can be established.
Sodium Chloride NaCl

commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sodium-chloride-3D-ionic.png

2 The Mole Concept

Formula and Molecular Mass
Formula mass is the mass of a formula unit of a compound, relative to a
mass of exactly 12 u for carbon-12.
also formula weight
usually for ionic compounds
Molecular mass is the mass of a molecule relative to a mass of exactly 12 u for
carbon-12.
also molecular weight
Formula and Molecular Mass: Examples
molecular mass H2 O

=
=
=

2(atomic mass H) + (atomic mass O)

2(1.00794 u) + 15.9994 u
18.0153 u

formula mass MgCl2

=
=
=

atomic mass Mg + 2(atomic mass Cl)

24.3050 u + 2(35.453 u)
95.211 u

Atomic Mass Unit

The mass of one atom of carbon-12 is 1.661 1024 g. Although we can
measure the mass of atoms, say carbon, using grams, this is very difficult to
remember. The atomic mass unit (or u) makes measuring the masses of atoms
more convenient.
An atomic mass unit, u, is used to express the masses of individual atoms.
1
the mass of a carbon-12 atom.
One u is 12
2

Avogadros Number
The Avogadro constant, NA , has a value of 6.02214 1023 mol1 . It is the
number of elementary units in one mole
A mole is an amount of substance containing Avogadros number
(6.02214 1023 mol1 ) of atoms, formula units, or molecules.
The Mole
Mole (abbreviated mol) is a collection of Avogadros number (6.02214
1023 ) of objects.
1 gram = 6.02214 1023 amu
1 mole = 6.02214 1023 objects (atoms or molecules)
1 gram/mol = 1 amu/object
Thus the atomic mass values for each element symbol in the periodic table
may be used to refer to the mass of a single atom in amu or to the mass of
Avogadros number of atoms in grams.
Molecular Weight Formula
The formula for molecular weight is given below:
MWt =

g
mol

From this we can isolate any variable given the two others.
mol =

g
MWt

and

g = mol MWt

Mole, Mass, and Molecules

1 mol
H2 O
MgCl2
Mg(NO3 )2

g
18.0153 g
95.211 g
148.3148 g

molecules
6.02214 1023 H2 O molecules
6.02214 1023 MgCl2 formula units
6.02214 1023 Mg(NO3 )2 formula units

Calculation Involving Molar Mass PHMB 10e, Example 3-2, p 75

The volatile liquid ethyl mercaptan, C2 H6 S, is one of the most odoriferous
substances known. It is sometimes added to natural gas to make gas leaks
detectable. How many C2 H6 S molecules are contained in a 1.0 L sample?
The density of liquid ethyl mercaptan is 0.84 g/mL.
ANSWER: 8.1 1018 molecules C2 H6 S
Mass Percent from Chemical Formula
Steps in calculating percent composition from a chemical formula
1. Determine the molar mass of the compound.
2. Determine the contribution of the given element to the molar mass.
3. Formulate the ratio of the mass of the given element to the mass of the
compound as a whole.
4. Multiply this ratio by 100% to obtain the mass percent of the element.
The percentages of the elements in a compound should add up to 100%.
3

Calculating the Mass Percent Composition of a Compound PHMB 10e,

Example 3-4, p 78
What is the mass percent composition of halothane, C2 HBrClF3 ?
ANSWER: 12.17% C, 0.51% H, 40.48% Br, 17.96% Cl, 28.88% F

3 Determining the Formula of an Unknown

Compound
From Empirical to Molecular Formulas
Steps to get the molecular from the empirical formula
1. Assume 100 g of sample.
2. Calculate the moles of the elements in 100 g
3. Write a tentative formula based on these mole numbers
4. Divide the all mole numbers by the smallest mole number
5. Make the ratios into whole number
Molecular from Empirical Formulas PHMB 10e, Example 3-5, p 80
Dibutyl succinate is an insect repellent used against household ants
and roaches. Its composition is 62.58% C, 9.63% H, and 27.79% O. Its
experimentally determined molecular mass is 230 u. What are the empirical
and molecular formulas of dibutyl succinate?
ANSWER: Empirical formula C6 H11 O2 , molecular formula C12 H22 O4
Empirical Formula from Combustion Analysis Data PHMB 10e, Example 3-6,
p 83
Vitamin C is essential for the prevention of scurvy. Combustion of a 0.2000
g sample of this carbon hydrogen oxygen compound yields 0.2998 g CO2 and
0.0819 g H2 O. What are the percent composition and the empirical formula of
vitamin C?
ANSWER: Empirical formula of vitamin C: C3 H4 O3