Moles calculations in chemistry

Triangles: ‘Cover over’ the value you have to find. If it’s the top value, then multiply the
bottom two, or divide the one on top by the remaining one underneath.

This one’s for solids

1) mass = moles x molar mass

𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠
2) moles =
𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠

𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠
3) molar mass =
𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑠

What is the mass of 2.5 moles of chlorine gas?

Using equation 1, chlorine gas (Cl2 remember) has a molar mass of 2 x 35.5 = 71 g mol-1

mass = 2.5 x 71 Answer= 177.5 g

How many moles are there in 4.5 g of beryllium (molar mass 9.0 g mol-1)?
Using equation 2:
4.5
moles = Answer = 0.5 moles
9.0

What is the molar mass of lithium if 31.05 g contains 4.5 moles?

Using equation 3:
31.05
molar mass = Answer = 6.9 g mol-1
4.5

Avogadro’s is the number of atoms in exactly 12 g of

carbon. It is 6 with a lot of zeros after, 6.023 x1023 to be
precise. The relative atomic mass (Ar) and relative
Number of
molecular mass (Mr) are relative to this carbon
particles standard. 4.0 g of helium contains 6.023 x1023 atoms of
helium. 16g of methane (CH4) contains 6.023 x1023
molecules of methane. You need to be confident
Amount of Avogadro’s
Substance number handling this kind of number with your calculator.
(moles) 23
(6.023x 10 ) Remember moles are often abbreviated as mol.

How many particles are there in 23 g of ethanol?

Now we have to start combining ideas….first how many moles in 23g ethanol?
Starting with the molecular formula ethanol: CH3CH2OH, that’s C2H6O
Mr Ethanol = 12x2 + 6x1 + 16 = 46g. 23g is therefore 23/46= 0.5 mol.
So now the question is how many particles (molecules) are there in 0.5 mol of ethanol?

Number of particles = mol x Avogadro’s number 0.5 x 6.023 x1023 = 3.012 x1023 particles
 In industry, yield is money. The more of my starting
materials that end up as saleable product, the more
money I make. It’s also good for the environment – if it
doesn’t get sold, or recycled, then it’s probably going to
waste. The more product I make, the less waste I have
to dispose of.

Burning carbon in oxygen produces carbon dioxide:

C(s) + O2(g) → CO2(g) equation 1

However the yield is rarely 100 % due to a competing reaction which also
takes place:
2C(s) + O2(g) → 2 CO(g) equation 2

Burning 12 g of carbon to make produced only 34g of CO2, what is the

percentage yield?

Although we’re given the second equation, we do not need it. You can see from equation 1,
each mole of carbon produces 1 mole of CO2. We know that 12g of carbon is one mole, so
we should get 1 mole of CO2. Mr CO2 = 12 + 16 +16 = 44g, however we are told we only got
34g of CO2.

𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑦𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑 34
yield = 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑦𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑 = = 0.77 multiply by 100 to give percentage = 77% yield
44

Time to look at solutions.

Remember: watch out for volume units. They are often

give in cm3 (also called mL), but need to be in cubic
decimetres dm3. 1000 cm3 = 1 dm3
(note: 1 dm3 is the same as 1 litre)
Depending on the question you may find yourself dividing
or multiplying by 1000.
Concentration is also called Molarity (units M)

What is the molarity of a solution containing 0.32 moles of NaCl in 3.4 dm3?
Give your answer to 3 significant figures

𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑠 0.32
molarity = 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 molarity = 3.4
= 0.094 M NaCl
Quick check: yield can only be 100% OR LESS. If your answer is more than 100, something’s
wrong. A quick look at the numbers should tell you that 34 is about ¾ of 44, so my guess is
somewhere around 75%, so there’s a good chance that 77% is right.

This one’s for gases.

The nice thing is it doesn’t matter what gas you’re talking about, one mole of any gas
occupies the same volume at the same temperature and
pressure. To make things easier, temperature and
pressure are standardised. At one atmosphere pressure
(100 kPa = 1000 pascals), 273 K, 0°C (called STP or
standard temperature and pressure), any and every gas
occupies 22.4 dm3. As most labs are a little warmer than
freezing, you will also see RTP (room temperature
pressure. Still 1 atmosphere (atm), but now 298 K, 25°C.
As the temperature is higher, the volume also goes up - it
is now 24 dm3. You will normally be given which one to
use. Watch out for units for volume can be cm3 or dm3.

What is the volume of 3 kg of methane at STP?

(Note: 1 mol of gas occupies 22.4 dm3 at STP)

Easy enough if you do it stage by stage….

Convert kilos to grams 3kg = 3,000g of methane.

Methane is CH4, so Mr = 12 + 1x4 = 16 g mol-1
So how many moles of methane are there in 3000g?

𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 3000
moles = 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 hence moles = = 187.5 mol
16

nearly there…..

1 mol occupies 22.4dm3 (at STP)

But we have 187.5 mol:

22.4 x 187.5 = 4200 dm3

A little trickier: A sample of a substance was found to contain 38% of

magnesium and 62% of fluorine by mass. Find the simplest formula for the
compound.

First trick is to realise % is the same as g, for this calculation. So now I have 38g Mg (Ar 24),
62g F (Ar 19). You will be given the relative atomic/molecular masses, or usually a periodic
table to help you calculate these.

How many moles of each?

38 62
Moles Mg = 1.58 mol and moles F = 3.26 mol
24 19
Get the smallest number of mols and divide it into the other value, 1.58 : 3.26 is
approximately 1 : 2 so the formula is MgF2
Note these calculations are not always exact, but should be ‘close enough’.
You should have used your knowledge of chemistry to ‘guess’ the right answer, but you
must ALWAYS show your workings.