.

Amount of substance
 Relative Atomic Mass Ar and Relative
Molecular Mass Mr

Aim
 Define the terms relative atomic mass
and relative molecular mass
 Explain the meaning of Avagadro’s
constant
 Know how to calculate the number of
moles
 Relative Atomic Mass (Ar) and
Relative Molecular Mass (Mr)
 A single atom has a very small mass. For example, a
hydrogen atom has a mass 1.2 x 10-24g.
 Due to the difficulty in working with such small
numbers, chemists use the relative atomic mass
scale to compare the masses of different atoms.
 The hydrogen atom, the lightest atom, was originally
assigned an Ar value of 1, and Ar values of other
atoms were compared to this.
 The reference atom that is now used is the carbon-12
isotope (12C,) which is assigned a relative atomic mass
of exactly 12.
Relative atomic mass
 The relative atomic mass, Ar, is the weighted average mass of an
atom of an element, taking into account its naturally occurring
isotopes, compared to 1/12th of the relative atomic mass of an
atom of carbon-12.

 Relative atomic mass (Ar)=the average mass of an atom X 12

the mass of one atom of carbon-12

 Ar have no units. Carbon atoms do not have a mass of 12 ‘anythings’

they are just 12 times heavier than hydrogen atoms (Ar =1)

Example- Aluminium
Ar (Al) = 27
An average atom of aluminium is 27 times heavier than 1/12 the mass of
a carbon-12 atom.
Relative molecular mass (relative
formula mass)
The relative molecular mass, Mr, of a
molecule is the mass of that molecule
compared to 1/12th the relative atomic
mass of an atom of carbon 12.

Mr = average mass of one molecule x 12

mass of an atom of carbon 12
Relative molecular mass (relative
formula mass)
 Methane CH4
 Relative formula mass = (1 x12) + (4x1)
=16
 Calcium nitrate, Ca (NO3)2
 Relative formula mass = (1x40) + (2x14) + (6x16)
=164

Now complete the two examples on page 1 of your notes

 The Mole and the Avogadro
constant
 Single atoms, ions, molecules and
“formula units” are far too small to be
counted – chemists need an appropriate
counting unit – the mole.
 The number of particles in 1 mole is
6.02 x 1023 and this is called the
Avogadro constant (L)
The mole
 The amount of a substance that contains 6.02 x 1023
particles is called a mole
 The relative atomic mass of an element in grams contains
one mole of atoms

Note:
 Number of entities (N) = number of moles (n) x 6.02 x 10 23 (L)
 Example: How many molecules in 3 mol water –
 N =nxL
= 3 x 6.02 x 1023
= 18.06 x 1023
 Example: How many atoms in 3 mol water –
 N =nxLx3
= 3 x 6.02 x 1023 x 3
= 5.418 x 1024
 Molar Mass
The molar mass of a substance is the mass of
one mole in grams.

Examples:
Molar mass of carbon is… 12g
Molar mass of iodine molecules is … 254g
Molar mass of water is … 18g
Molar mass of H2SO4 is … 98g
Molar mass of NaCl is … 58.5g
 Mole Calculations
 Moles = mass in g/ Molar MASS

 Example: How many moles of oxygen molecules are

there in 64g oxygen O2?

Moles = 64/32 = 2mol

 Example: Calculate the mass of 0.5 mol water.

Mass = moles x Mr
Mass = 0.5 x 18
= 9g
Calculate the number of moles in:
1) 6g of carbon atoms
2)4g of oxygen atoms
3)3g of hydrogen atoms
4)328g of Ca(NO3)2
5)8.5g of methane