GENERAL CHEMISTRY 1

PERCENT COMPOSITION AND

CHEMICAL FORMULAS
Information from the chemical formula:
a. The compound is made up of two elements, namely carbon and
oxygen.
b. One molecule of CO2 is made up of one atom of carbon and two
atoms of oxygen.
c. One mole of CO2 molecules will have one mole of C atoms and two
moles of O atoms.
d. The ratio of the moles of C to the moles of O in CO2 is 1:2.
e. CO2 is composed of 27.29% carbon and 72.71% oxygen. The chemical
formula provides the percent composition of CO2.
PERCENT COMPOSITION
BY MASS
PERCENT COMPOSITION BY MASS

is the percent by mass of each element in a compound

n = the number of atoms of the element

Therefore, CO2 is composed of 27.29% C atom and 72.71% O atom.
1. Calculate the percent composition of NaCl.

%Na = 1 x 22.99g/mol Na x 100 = 39.34% Na

58.44 g/mol NaCl

% Cl = 1 x 35.45g/mol x 100 = 60.66% Cl

58.44 g/mol NaCl
The chemical formula of glucose is C6H12O6.
Determine its percent composition.
%C = 6 x 12.01g/mol C x 100 = 39.99% C
180.18 g/mol C6H12O6
%H = 12 x 1.01 g/mol H x 100 = 6.727% H
180.18 g/mol C6H12O6
%O = 6 x 16.0g/mol O x 100 = 53.28% O
180.18 g/mol C6H12O6
Which element comprising Mg(OH)2 has the highest
percentage by mass?
%Mg = 1 x 24.31g/mol Mg x 100 = 41.68% Mg
58.33 g/mol Mg(OH)2
%O = 2 x 16.00 g/mol O x 100 = 54.86% O
58.33 g/mol Mg(OH)2
%H = 2 x 1.01g/mol H x 100 = 3.46% H
58.33 g/mol Mg(OH)2
Therefore, oxygen has the highest
percentage by mass.
EMPIRICAL FORMULA
EMPIRICAL FORMULA

 Empirical formula of a compound can be calculated from the percent

composition. Because percentage is given, it is convenient to assume
100.00 grams of the compound.
Example. A compound is found to consist of 7.81% C and 92.19% Cl.
What is the empirical formula of the compound?
 Assume 100.00 grams of the compound. The sample will therefore
contain 7.81 g C and 92.19 g Cl. The grams are converted to moles to get
the ratios of the moles of the elements in the compound:
 The compound is C0.650Cl2.601. But chemical formulas are expressed in
whole numbers. Empirical formulas are expressed as the lowest whole
number ratio between the atoms. To convert to whole numbers, divide
the number of moles by the smallest value (that is 0.650).

The empirical formula is C1Cl4 or CCl4.

 Example. A compound is found to consist of 43.64% P and 56.36% O. The
molar mass for the compound is 283.88 g/mol. What is the empirical
formula and molecular formula of the compound? Assume 100.00 grams of
the compound. What is the mass of each element in 100.00 grams of
compound?
P = 43.64g 0 = 56.36g
Divide the mole values by the smallest value to get

The compound is PO2.5.

But the subscripts are still not whole numbers. Multiply the
subscripts by a factor to get the smallest whole number. When
multiplied by 2, the empirical formula is P2O5.
MOLECULAR FORMULA
 Formula which describes the
composition of compounds. It gives the
information of how many atoms are in
each molecule.
Example: Compare the mass of the empirical formula to the molar mass;
Mass of the Empirical Formula P2O5 = 141.94 g/mol
Molar Mass of P2O5 = 283.88 g/mol
n=2 is the
whole
number
multiple

Therefore, the molecular formula is (P2O5)2 or P4O10.

 Example:

Naphthalene has a molecular formula of C8H10.

One molecule of naphthalene is made up of two
elements, Carbon and Hydrogen.
Molecular mass of naphthalene is 106.16 amu.