Chapter 3

Chemical Formulae and

Equations
Relative Atomic Mass (Ar )
An atom is very tiny
Impossible to determine its mass by

weighing.
RAM is not actually mass of a atom.
Its only a comparison value.
So RAM has no unit.
RAM is defined as the average mass of one

atom of the elements when compared with

one twelfth of the mass of a carbon-12
atom.
Relative Atomic Mass (Ar )

Phosphorus atom is 31 times greater than

of a carbon-12 atom, thus relative atomic
mass of P will be 31.
Relative Atomic Mass (Ar )
Example
Relative atomic mass of carbon dioxide,
CO2 = 12 + (2 x 16)
=44
Element Molecular RAM
Formula

Hydrogen H2 1 x 2= 2
oxygen O2 16 x 2 =32
water H2O (1 x2) + 16 = 18
Chlorine Cl2 35.5 x 2 = 71
Relative Molecular Mass
(Mr )
Is the number of times the mass of an
molecule of the substance is greater than
of a carbon-12.

Molecule is make up of a number of

atoms.RMM is calculated by adding up the
relative atomic masses of all the atoms
present in a molecule.
Relative Molecular Mass
(Mr )
Example
Calculated the relative molecular mass of
cooper (II) chloride, CuCl2 [RAM: Cu=64,
Cl=35.5]

CuCl2 = 64 + (2 x 35.5)
=135
Substance Molecular RMM (Mr )
formulae
Propane C3H8 3(12) + 8(1)= 44

Ethanol C2H5OH 2(12) + 5(1)+ 16 + 1= 46

Relative Formula Mass (Fr )
The term Fr can only be used for the
substances that are made up of ionic
compound.
Substances Molecular Formulae RFM,Fr

Sodium NaCl 23+35.5 = 58.5

chloride
Potassium K2O
Oxide
Zinc nitrate Zn(NO3)2
Relative Formula Mass (Fr )
Question
The relative formula mass of a compound
with the formulae Y2SO4 is 142. calculate
the relative atomic mass of element Y.
[ relative atomic mass: O: 16, S: 32]
The Mole and The number of
Particles
Daily life
1 Dozen pens = 12 pens
2 Dozen pens = 24 pens

Chemistry
1 mole of copper = 6.02 x 1023 copper

atoms
2 mole of copper =2 x 6.02 x 1023 copper

atoms
Symbol of mole is mol.
The Mole and The number of
Particles
The Avogadro constant (NA ) is defined as
the number of particles in one mole of a
substances.
The Mole and The number of
Particles
Exercise
1. Find the number of atom in
a) O.4 mole of iron
b) 0.1 mole of oxygen

2. 0.3 mole of zinc bromide, ZnBr2, is

dissolved in a beaker of water. Calculate
the total number of ions present in the
beaker.
The Mole and The mass of
substances
Molar mass of a substance is the mass of
one mole of the substance in grams. The
unit is gram per mole (g mol-1 )
Substance Relative mass Molar mass
(g mol-1 )
Magnesium, Mg Ar =24 24
Helium, He Ar =4 4
Hydrogen gas, H2 Mr =2(1)= 2 2
Methane, CH4 Mr =12+4(1)= 16 16
Sodium Chloride, Fr = 23+ 35.5= 58.5 58.5
NaCl
Zinc Bromide, Fr = 65+2(80)= 225 225
ZnBr2
The Mole and The mass of
substances
The Mole and The mass of
substances
Exercise
1. Find the mass of the following
i. O.5 mole of copper
ii. 1.5 mole of carbon dioxide [RAM : C: 12,
O: 16, Cu: 64]

2. What is the mass of gold that has the

same number of atom as in 4 g of
oxygen? [RAM: O:16, Au: 197]
The Mole and The Volume of
Gas
Molar volume of a gas is defined as the
volume of one mole of the gas.
22.4 dm3 mol-1 at STP [ Standard

temperature of 0 o C and pressure of 1

atmosphere.]
24 dm3 mol-1 at room conditions.

[temperature of 25 o C and pressure of 1

atmosphere.]
Remember 1dm3= 1000 cm3
The Mole and The Volume of
Gas
The Mole and The Volume of
Gas
Exercise
1. What is the volume of 0.4 mole of carbon
dioxide gas at STP? [ Molar volume: 22.4
dm3 mol-1 at STP]

2. Find the number of moles of ammonia gas

contained in a sample of 60 cm3 of the gas
at room conditions.
The Mole, Number of particles,
mass and volume.
X Avogadro
X molar constant
mass

Mass (g)
Number Number of
particles
of moles

molar
Avogadro
mass
constant
X molar molar
volume volume

Volume (dm3)
The Mole, Number of particles,
mass and volume.
Exercise
1. What is the volume of 12 g of methane at
STP?
2. A sample of 120 cm3 of carbon dioxide is
collected at room condition in an experiment.
Calculate the mass of the sample of carbon
dioxide.
3. How many hydrogen molecule are there in 6
dm3 of hydrogen gas at room condition?
4. Find the volume of nitrogen gas in cm 3 at STP
that consists of 22.4 dm3 mol-1 at STP.
Chemical Formulae
Representation of a chemical substance
using letters for atoms and subscript
number to show the numbers of each type
of atoms that are present in the substance.
Based on chemical formulae:

I. The elements that make up the

substances
II. The ratio or number of atoms of each
Compound
element Chemical
in the Elements
substance.
Formula Present
Ratio of the
atoms of
elements
water H2O Hydrogen, oxygen H:O = 2:1
Magnesium Mg(NO3)2 Magnesium, Mg:N:O= 1:2:6
nitrate nitrogen, oxygen
Chemical Formulae
Two types of chemical formulae:
a) Empirical formula
b) Molecular formula

) Empirical formula gives the simplest

whole number ratio of atoms of each
element present in the compound.
) Molecular formula gives the actual
number of atoms of each element
present in one molecule of the compound.
Chemical Formulae
Compound Molecular Simplest Empirical
formula Ratio of formula
atoms of
elements
Water H2O H:O =2:1 H2O

Ethene C2H4 C:H =1:2 CH2

Vitamin C C6H8O6 C:H:O = 3:4:3 C3H4O3

Chemical Formulae
The following shows the steps in
determining the empirical formula of a
compound.
1. Find the mass of each element in the
compound.
2. Convert the masses to number of moles
of atoms
3. Find the simplest ratio of the elements.
Chemical Formulae
Example
1.08 g of aluminium combines chemically

with 0.96 g of oxygen to form an oxide.

What is the empirical formula of the oxide?
[RMM O: 16; Al:27]
Element Aluminium, Al Oxygen, O

Mass (g) 1.08 0.96

Number of
moles of atoms
Ratio of moles

Simplest ratio 2 3
of moles
Chemical Formulae
Since two moles aluminium atoms combines
with 3 moles of oxygen atoms, the empirical
formula of the aluminium oxides is Al2O3
Chemical Formulae
Exercise
To determine the empirical formula of
magnesium oxide.
From the experiment:
Description Mass (g)

Crucible + lid 5.68 g

Crucible + lid+ magnesium 5.92 g

Crucible + lid+ magnesium oxide 6.08 g

Chemical Formulae

Molecular Formula = (empirical formula)nn

Whereby n is a positive integer.

Compound Empirical n Molecular
formula formula

Water H2O 1 (H2O)1 = H2O

Propene CH2 3 (CH2 )3 = C3H6

Chemical Formulae
Exercise
8.5 g of hydrogen peroxide contains 0.5 g of
hydrogen. If the molar mass of hydrogen
peroxide is 34 g mol-1 , find its molecular
formula. [RMM: H:1; O:16]
Chemical Formulae of Ionic
compounds
Ionic compounds consists of:
I. Cations (positively-charged ions)
II. Anion (negatively-charged ions)
Formulae of some common
Cation
Charge of cation Cation (Positive Formula of cation
ion)
Sodium ion Na+
Potassium ion K+
+1 Hydrogen ion H+
Ammonium ion NH+4
Copper (I) ion Cu+
Calcium ion Ca2+
Magnesium ion Mg2+
+2
Iron (II) ion Fe2+
Copeer (II) ion Cu2+
+3 Iron (III) ion Fe3+
Aluminium ion Al3+
+4 Tin (IV) ion Sn4+
Lead (IV) ion Pb4+
Formulae of some common
anion
Charge of anion Anion ( negative Formula of anion
ion)
Fluoride ion F-
Chloride ion Cl-
-1 Bromide ion Br-
Iodide ion I-
Hydroxide ion OH-
Hydride H-
Manganese (VII) ion MnO-4
Oxide ion O2-
Carbonate ion CO2-3
-2
Sulphide ion S2-
Sulphate ion SO2-4
Chromate (VI) ion CrO2-4
3-
Chemical Formulae of Ionic
compounds
Steps in constructing the chemical formula
of ionic compound.
1. Write the formulae of its cation and anion
2. Determine the number of cations and
aniona by balancing the positive charge
and negative charge.
3. Write the number of cations and anions as
subscript numbers.
Chemical Formulae of Ionic
compounds
Example
Construct the chemical formula of iron (II)
chloride.
Ion Iron (II) ion Chloride ion,
,Fe2+ Cl-
Charge of the +2 -1
ion
Number of ions 1 2

1 Fe2+ combines with 2 Cl- . Therefore , the

chemical formula of iron (II) chloride is FeCl2
Check: total of positive charge = 1(+2)= +2
Total of negative charge = 2(-1)= -2
Chemical Formulae of Ionic
compounds
Exercise
1. Construct the chemical formula of
aluminium oxide

2. Construct the chemical formula of zinc

sulphate.
Naming of chemical
compound
For ionic compounds, the name of cation
come first, followed by the name of anion.
Example: Sodium chloride
Certain elements such as transition metals

can form more than one type of ions.

Roman numerals such as I,II,III are used in
their naming
Example : Sn2+ named as tin (II) ion
Sn+ named as tin (I) ion
Chemical equation
Is a precise description of a chemical
reaction.
A chemical reaction occurs when a few

starting substances react to produce new

substances.
I. Starting substances are called reactants.
II. New substances formed are called
products
For example:
) Reactant (s) Product (s)

2 H2 (g) + O2 (g) 2 H2O (I)

HCl (aq) + NaOH (aq) NaCl (aq) + H2O (I)

Chemical equation
Ethane gas burns in excessive oxygen
according to the following equation:
C2H4 (g) + 3 O2 (g) 2 CO2 (g) + 2H2O (I)
Find the volume of carbon dioxide released at
the STP if 42 g of ethene is burnt
completely. [RAM : H: 1, C:12 Molar volume :
22.4 dm3 mol-1 ]