Cambridge IGCSE Combined and Co-ordinated Sciences Revision checklists

Chapter C6  Quantitative chemistry

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The atomic masses of atoms have been found using a
mass spectrometer. They are measured relative to a
standard – a carbon-12 atom is fixed as having a mass
of 12 exactly.
Many elements are made up of different isotopes –
atoms of the same element with different nucleon
(mass) numbers.
Calculation of the average mass of an atom of an
element must take into account the different isotopes
present. This average mass is known as the relative
atomic mass.
The relative formula mass of a compound can be
calculated by adding up the masses of the atoms or
ions in the formula. Relative formula masses are useful
for calculating the percentage by mass of an element
in a compound. Experiments show that compounds
are made from elements combining in fixed ratios
by mass.
The mole is the unit used in chemistry to express the
amount of a substance taking part in a reaction. One
mole of any substance contains the same number of
constituent particles per mole (the Avogadro constant)
whether they are atoms, molecules or formula units.

One mole of any gas has a volume of approximately

24 dm3 at room temperature and pressure (r.t.p.).

For reactions involving only gases, the ratio of the

volumes of the reactants and products is the same
as the ratio of the number of moles in the balanced
equation
The ‘concentration’ of a solution can be expressed
in terms of the mass of solute dissolved (in grams) –
this gives the mass concentration in grams per cubic
decimetre (g/dm3). However, the concentration of
a solution can be more usefully expressed in terms
of the amount of solute dissolved (in moles) – this
gives the concentration in moles per cubic decimetre
(mol/dm3). The concentration values expressed in
this form are important in calculating the results of
titration experiments.

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