Moles and Compounds
The idea of the mole has not been only used with elements and atoms but also used with compounds.
1 mole of water H2O (left) and 1 mole of ethanol C2H5OH (right) in measuring cylinders
If you asked what will be the mass of 1 mole of water (H2O) molecules? (where, Ar for H = 1 and O = 16)
Let’s find the solution.
From the formula of water, H2O, we can see that 1 mole of water molecules contains 2 moles of hydrogen (H) atoms and 1 mole of oxygen (O) atoms.So we get the mass of 1 mole of water molecules is = (2 × 1) + (1 × 16) = 18 g
The mass of 1 mole of any compound is called its molar mass. One can write the molar mass of a compound without any units. Then it is called the relative formula mass, often called the relative molecular mass (Mr ).
So the relative formula mass (RFM) of water is = 18.
Let’s learn and understand more about moles and compounds!
Example 1
What will be the mass of a) one mole and b) the relative formula mass (RFM) of ethanol, C2H5OH? (Ar For H = 1, C = 12 and O = 16)
a) 1 mole of C2H5OH contains 2 moles of carbon atoms, 6 moles of hydrogen atoms and 1 mole of oxygen atoms. So, the mass of one mole of ethanol is
= (2 × 12) + (6 × 1) + (1 × 16)
= 46 g
b) The RFM of ethanol is 46.
Related- Calculating Moles: Moles and Elements
Example 2
What will be the mass of a) 1 mole and b) the RFM of nitrogen gas, N2? (Ar for N = 14)
a) We know Nitrogen (N2) is a diatomic gas. Each nitrogen molecule contains two atoms of nitrogen.
So, the mass of 1 mole of nitrogen is
= N2 = 2 × 14
= 28 g
b) The RFM of N2 is 28.
The mass of any compound found in any number of moles can be calculated using the following formula
Example 3
Calculate the mass of a) 3 moles and b) 0.4 moles of carbon dioxide gas, CO2 . (Ar for C = 12 and O = 16)
1 mole of CO2 contains 1 mole of carbon atoms and 2 moles of oxygen atoms.
So the mass of 1 mole of CO2 is
= (1 × 12) + (2 × 16)
= 44 g
a) The mass of 3 moles of CO2 is
= number of moles × mass of 1 mole of CO2
= 3 × 44
= 132 g
Similarly,
b) the mass of 0.4 mole of CO2 is = 0.4 × 44 = 17.6 g
If you know the mass of a compound then you can calculate the number of moles of the compound using the following relationship
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Example 4
We can calculate the number of moles of magnesium oxide, MgO in a) 80 g and b) 10 g of the compound. (Ar for O = 16 and Mg = 24)
1 mole of MgO contains 1 mole of magnesium atoms and 1 mole of oxygen atoms.
So, the mass of 1 mole of MgO
= (1 × 24) + (1 × 16)
= 40 g
a)The number of moles of MgO in 80 g
= 80 g ÷ 40g = 2
Similarly
b) the number of moles of MgO in 10 g is
= 10 g ÷ 40g
= 0.25 mole
Source- Cambridge IGCSE Chemistry 3rd Edition