3.1.2.

2 The Mole & the Avogadro Constant

- REACTING MASSES

- REACTING VOLUMES

Mole & Avogadro Constant

 The Avogadro constant (NA or L) is the number of particles equivalent to the

relative atomic mass or molecular mass of a substance

o The Avogadro constant applies to atoms, molecules, ions and electrons

 The value of NA is 6.02 x 1023 g mol-1

 The mass of a substance with this number of particles is called a mole (mol)

o The mass of a substance containing the same number of fundamental

units as there are atoms in exactly 12.00 g of 12C

 One mole of any element is equal to the relative atomic mass of that element in
grams

o One mole of carbon, that is if you had 6.02 x 1023 atoms of carbon in your
hand, would have a mass of 12 g

o One mole of water would have a mass of (2 x 1 + 16) = 18 g

 The number of moles or particles can be calculated easily using a formula

triangle:

Formula triangle diagram linking moles, particles and Avogadro's constant

 The moles and particles formula triangle – cover the one you want to find and follow
the directions in the triangle

Worked Example

Determine the number of atoms, molecules and the relative mass of 1 mole of:

1. Na

2. H2

3. NaCl

Answer 1

 The relative atomic mass of Na is 23.0

 Therefore, 1 mol of Na has a mass of 23.0 g mol-1

 1 mol of Na will contain 6.02 x 1023 atoms of Na (Avogadro’s constant)

Answer 2

 The relative atomic mass of H is 1.0

 Since there are 2 H atoms in H2, the mass of 1 mol of H2 is (2 x 1.0) = 2.0 g mol-1

 1 mol of H2 will contain 6.02 x 1023 molecules of H2

 Since there are 2 H atoms in H2, 1 mol of H2 will contain 2 x 6.02 x 1023 = 1.204 x
1024 H atoms

Answer 3

 The relative atomic mass of Na and Cl is 23.0 and 35.5 respectively

 Therefore, 1 mol of NaCl has a mass of (23.0 + 35.5) = 58.5 g mol-1

 1 mol of NaCl will contain 6.02 x 1023 molecules of NaCl

 Since there is one Na and one Cl atom in NaCl, 1 mol of NaCl will contain 2 x
6.02 x 1023 = 1.204 x 1024 atoms in total

1 mole of Number of atoms Number of molecules Relative mass (g mol-1)

Na 6.02 x 1023 - 23.0

H2 1.204 x 1024 6.02 x 1023 2.0

NaCl 1.204 x 1024 6.02 x 1023 58.5

Reacting Masses

 The number of moles of a substance can be found by using the following

equation:

number of mol =

 It is important to be clear about the type of particle you are referring to when
dealing with moles

o E.g. 1 mole of CaF2 contains one mole of CaF2 formula units, but one
mole of Ca2+ and two moles of F- ions

Reacting masses

 The masses of reactants are useful to determine how much of the

reactants exactly react with each other to prevent waste

 To calculate the reacting masses, the chemical equation is required

 This equation shows the ratio of moles of all the reactants and products, also
called the stoichiometry, of the equation

 To find the mass of products formed in a reaction the following pieces of

information are needed:

o The mass of the reactants

o The molar mass of the reactants

o The balanced equation

Stoichiometric relationships

 The stoichiometry of a reaction can be found if the exact amounts of reactants

and products formed are known

 The amounts can be found by using the following equation:

number of mol =

 The gas volumes can be used to deduce the stoichiometry of a reaction

o E.g. in the combustion of 50 cm3 of propane reacting with 250 cm3 of

oxygen, 150 cm3 of carbon dioxide is formed suggesting that the ratio of
propane : oxygen : carbon dioxide is 1:5:3

C3H8 (g) + 5O2 (g) → 3CO2 (g) + 4H2O (l)

Volumes & Concentrations of Solutions

 The concentration of a solution is the amount of solute dissolved in a solvent to

make 1 dm3 of solution

o The solute is the substance that dissolves in a solvent to form a solution

o The solvent is often water

concentration (mol dm-3) =

 A concentrated solution is a solution that has a high concentration of solute

 A dilute solution is a solution with a low concentration of solute

 When carrying out calculations involve concentrations in mol dm-3 the following
points need to be considered:

o Change mass in grams to moles

o Change cm3 to dm3

 To calculate the mass of a substance present in solution of

known concentration and volume:

o Rearrange the concentration equation

number of moles (mol) = concentration (mol dm-3) x volume (dm3)

 Multiply the moles of solute by its molar mass

mass of solute (g) = number of moles (mol) x molar mass (g mol-1)

Worked Example

Calculating volume from concentration

Calculate the volume of 1.0 mol dm-3 hydrochloric acid required to completely react
with 2.5 g of calcium carbonate.

Answer:

1. Write the balanced symbol equation

 CaCO3 + 2HCl → CaCl2 + H2O + CO2

2. Calculate the amount, in moles, of calcium carbonate:

 n(CaCO3) = = 0.025 mol

 3. Calculate the moles of hydrochloric acid required using the reaction’s
stoichiometry:

 1 mol of CaCO3 requires 2 mol of HCl

 So 0.025 mol of CaCO3 requires 0.05 mol of HCl

4. Calculate the volume of HCl required:

 Volume (HCl) =

 Volume (HCl) = = 0.05 dm3

 So, the volume of hydrochloric acid required is 0.05 dm3

Volumes of gases

 Avogadro suggested that ‘equal volumes of gases contain the same number of
molecules’ (also called Avogadro’s hypothesis)

 At room temperature and pressure, one mole of any gas has a volume of 24.0
dm3

o Room temperature is 20 oC

o Room pressure is 1 atmosphere

 Using the following equations, the molar gas volume, 24.0 dm3, can be used to
find:

o The volume of a given mass or number of moles of gas

o The mass or number of moles of a given volume of gas

volume of gas (dm3) = amount of gas (mol) x 24.0

amount of gas (mol) =