Molar Mass

• A mole is a counting unit for atoms… It’s like a pair, a dozen, a ream, and so on… If a pair
is equal to 2 pieces, a dozen is equal to 12 pieces, a ream is 500 pieces… then a mole is
equal to 6.02 x 1023 molecules)

• The molar mass is defined as the mass in grams of 1 mole of that substance.

• For an element, the molar mass is the mass of 1 mol of atoms of that element (atomic
mass or weight rounded-off to whole number; can get from the periodic table)

• For a covalent molecular compound, it is the mass of 1 mol of molecules of that com-
pound (molecular mass)

• For an ionic compound, it is the mass of 1 mol of formula units (formula mass)

Simply put, molar mass = atomic mass/weight for an atom

= molecular weight for covalent compound
= formula mass for ionic compound
* Calculating molar mass is the same for ionic and covalent compound

Examples:

1) What is the molar mass of Na? Na is an element, so simply get it’s atomic mass/
weight from the periodic table and round it off to whole number. Answer: 22.990 = 23
g/mol (g/mol is the unit for molar mass)
2) What is the molar mass of Zinc, Zn? Answer: 65.38 = 65 g/mol
3) What is the molar mass of water, H2O?
Solution: no. of atoms of each element x atomic mass/weight of the element, then get
the sum or total
H = 2 (no. of atoms) x 1 (atomic mass) = 2
+
O=1 x 16 = 16
18 g/mol
4) What is the molar mass of glucose, C6H12O6
C = 6 x 12 = 72
H = 12 x 1 = 12
O = 6 x 16 = 96
Total = 180 g/mol

5) What is the molar mass of Aluminum Sulfate, Al2(SO4)3

Al= 2 x 27 = 54
S = 3 x 32 = 96
O= 12 x 16 = 192
Total = 342 g/mol

Percent Composition - The percent composition is the percent by mass of each element in
a compound.

%by mass = molar mass of element x 100

molar mass of compound

Example: What is the percent composition of Calcium Phosphate, Ca 3(PO4)2?

molar mass of Ca3(PO4)2 = 310 g/mol

%Ca = 120/310 x 100 = 38.71%

%P = 62/310 x 100 = 20 %
%O = 128/310 x 100 = 41.29%
Total = 100%

Practice Problems:

1. Calculate the molar mass of the following:

a) Zn(NO3)2 b) C12H22O11 c) BaO

2. Calculate the percent composition of Fe(OH)3

3. What is the percent composition of Na in Na2CO3?