Percentage Composition from

Chemical Formulas
Percentage Composition from
Chemical Formulas

• percentage composition of a compound is the

percentage by mass contributed by each
element in the substance.
Percentage Composition from
Chemical Formulas

• Calculating the percentage composition of any

element in a substance (sometimes called the
elemental composition of a substance depends on
– the formula weight of the substance,
– the atomic weight of the element of interest, and
– the number of atoms of that element in the chemical formula
Percentage Composition from
Chemical Formulas

One can find the percentage of the

mass of a compound that comes from
each of the elements in the compound
by using this equation:
Percentage Composition from
Chemical Formulas

So the percentage of carbon in ethane is

(2)(12.011 amu)
%C =
(30.070 amu)
24.022 amu
= × 100
30.070 amu

= 79.887%
Percentage Composition from
Chemical Formulas

Calculate the percentage of carbon, hydrogen,

and oxygen (by mass) in C12H22O11.
Percentage Composition from
Chemical Formulas

Calculate the percentage of nitrogen (by mass)

in Ca(NO3)2.
 Empirical Formulas from Analyses

• Molecular formulas tell you how many atoms of each element are in a compound, and
• empirical formulas tell you the simplest or most reduced ratio of elements in a
compound.

• If a compound's molecular formula cannot be reduced any more, then the empirical
formula is the same as the molecular formula.

Chemical name Molecular Empirical Formula

Formula
hydrogen peroxide H2O2 HO
ethylene C2H4 CH2
 Empirical Formulas from Analyses

• The empirical formula for a substance tells us the relative number of atoms of
each element in the substance.

• The empirical formula H2O shows that water contains two H atoms for each O
atom.
• This ratio also applies on the molar level:
1 mol of H2O contains 2 mol of H atoms and 1 mol of O atoms.

• Conversely, the ratio of the numbers of moles of all elements in a compound gives
the subscripts in the compound’s empirical formula.

• Thus, the mole concept provides a way of calculating empirical formulas

 Determining Empirical Formulas

One can determine the empirical formula

from the percent composition by following
these three steps.
 Determining Empirical Formulas

Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) contains 40.92% C, 4.58% H, and 54.50% O by

mass. What is the empirical formula of ascorbic acid?

In 100.00 g of ascorbic acid we have

• 40.92 g C
• 4.58 g H
• 54.50 g O
 Determining Empirical Formulas

Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) contains 40.92% C, 4.58% H, and 54.50% O by

mass. What is the empirical formula of ascorbic acid?
 Determining Empirical Formulas

Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) contains 40.92% C, 4.58% H, and 54.50% O by

mass. What is the empirical formula of ascorbic acid?
 Determining Empirical Formulas

Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) contains 40.92% C, 4.58% H, and 54.50% O by

mass. What is the empirical formula of ascorbic acid?
 Determining Empirical Formulas

Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) contains 40.92% C, 4.58% H, and 54.50% O by

mass. What is the empirical formula of ascorbic acid?
 Determining Empirical Formulas

The compound para-aminobenzoic acid (you may have seen it listed as PABA on
your bottle of sunscreen) is composed of carbon (61.31%), hydrogen (5.14%),
nitrogen (10.21%), and oxygen (23.33%). Find the empirical formula of PABA.

Assuming 100.00 g of para-aminobenzoic acid,

C: 61.31 g × = 5.105 mol C

H: 5.14 g × = 5.09 mol H

N: 10.21 g × = 0.7288 mol N

O: 23.33 g × = 1.456 mol O

 Determining Empirical Formulas

The compound para-aminobenzoic acid (you may have seen it listed as

PABA on your bottle of sunscreen) is composed of carbon (61.31%),
hydrogen (5.14%), nitrogen (10.21%), and oxygen (23.33%). Find the
empirical formula of PABA.
 Determining Empirical Formulas

The compound para-aminobenzoic acid (you may have seen it listed as PABA on
your bottle of sunscreen) is composed of carbon (61.31%), hydrogen (5.14%),
nitrogen (10.21%), and oxygen (23.33%). Find the empirical formula of PABA.

These are the subscripts for the empirical formula:

C7H7NO2
Molecular Formulas from Empirical
Formulas
• Remember, the number of atoms in a
molecular formula is a multiple of the
number of atoms in an empirical formula.

• If we find the empirical formula and know a

molar mass (molecular weight) for the
compound, we can find the molecular
formula.
Molecular Formulas from Empirical
Formulas
• The subscripts in the molecular formula of a
substance are always whole-number multiples
of the subscripts in its empirical formula.
• This multiple can be found by dividing the
molecular weight by the empirical formula
weight:
Determining a Molecular Formula—
an Example

• The empirical formula of a compound was

found to be CH. It has a molar mass of 78
g/mol. What is its molecular formula?
Solution:
Whole-number multiple = 78/13 = 6
The molecular formula is C6H6.
Determining a Molecular Formula—
an Example

• The empirical formula of ascorbic acid was

determined to be C3H4O3. The
experimentally determined molecular
weight is 176 u.

– the empirical formula weight is 3(12.0 u) +

4(1.0 u)+ 3(16.0 u) = 88.0 u
Determining a Molecular Formula—
an Example

• the empirical formula of ascorbic acid was

determined to be C3H4O3.
– the whole-number multiple that converts the
empirical formula to the molecular formula is
Determining a Molecular Formula—
an Example

• Mesitylene, a hydrocarbon found in crude

oil, has an empirical formula of C3H4 and an
experimentally determined molecular
weight of 121 u. What is its molecular
formula?
 Quantitative Information from Balanced Equations

• The coefficients in a chemical equation

represent the relative numbers of molecules
in a reaction.
• The mole concept allows us to convert this
information to the masses of the substances
in the reaction.
 Quantitative Information from Balanced Equations

• For instance, the coefficients in the balanced

equation
 Quantitative Information from Balanced Equations

The coefficients in a balanced chemical equation indicate both the relative

numbers of molecules (or formula units) in the reaction and the relative numbers
of moles.
 Quantitative Information from Balanced Equations

The quantities 2 mol H2, 1 mol O2, and 2

mol H2O given by the coefficients in
chemical equation are called
stoichiometrically equivalent quantities.

The relationship between these

quantities can be represented as
 Quantitative Information from Balanced Equations

Stoichiometric relations
such as these can be used to convert
between quantities of reactants and
products in a chemical reaction.
 Quantitative Information from Balanced Equations

Example:

the number of moles of H2O produced from

1.57 mol of O2 is
 Quantitative Information from Balanced Equations

consider the combustion of butane C4H10, the fuel in

disposable lighters:

calculate the mass of CO2 produced when 1.00 g of C4H10 is burned

 Quantitative Information from Balanced Equations

calculate the mass of CO2 produced when 1.00 g of C4H10 is burned

 Quantitative Information from Balanced Equations

calculate the mass of CO2 produced when 1.00 g of C4H10 is burned

 Quantitative Information from Balanced Equations

calculate the mass of CO2 produced when 1.00 g of C4H10 is burned

 Quantitative Information from Balanced Equations

calculate the mass of CO2 produced when 1.00 g of C4H10 is burned

Quantitative Information from Balanced Equations
 Combustion Analysis

• Compounds containing C, H, and O are routinely analyzed

through combustion in a chamber like the one shown in
Figure 3.14.
– C is determined from the mass of CO2 produced.
– H is determined from the mass of H2O produced.
– O is determined by the difference after C and H have been determined.
 Quantitative Relationships

• The coefficients in the balanced equation show

 relative numbers of molecules of reactants and
products.
 relative numbers of moles of reactants and
products, which can be converted to mass.
Stoichiometric Calculations

We have already seen in this chapter how to

convert from grams to moles or moles to
grams. The NEW calculation is how to
compare two DIFFERENT materials, using
the MOLE RATIO from the balanced
equation!
 An Example of a Stoichiometric
Calculation

• How many grams of water can be produced

from 1.00 g of glucose?
C6H12O6(s) + 6 O2(g) → 6 CO2(g) + 6 H2O(l)
• There is 1.00 g of glucose to start.
• The first step is to convert it to moles.
 An Example of a Stoichiometric
Calculation

• The NEW calculation is to convert

moles of one substance in the equation
to moles of another substance.
• The MOLE RATIO comes from the
balanced equation.
 An Example of a Stoichiometric
Calculation

• There is 1.00 g of glucose to start.

• The first step is to convert it to moles.
 Limiting Reactants
• The limiting reactant is the reactant present in
the smallest stoichiometric amount.
– In other words, it’s the reactant you’ll run out of first
(in this case, the H2).
 Limiting Reactants
In the example below, the O2 would be the
excess reagent.
 Limiting Reactants
• The limiting reactant is used in all stoichiometry
calculations to determine amounts of products
and amounts of any other reactant(s) used in a
reaction.
 Theoretical Yield
• The theoretical yield is the maximum
amount of product that can be made.
– In other words, it’s the amount of product
possible as calculated through the
stoichiometry problem.
• This is different from the actual yield,
which is the amount one actually
produces and measures.
 Percent Yield
One finds the percent yield by
comparing the amount actually obtained
(actual yield) to the amount it was
possible to make (theoretical yield):

actual yield
Percent yield = × 100
theoretical yield
References

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