UNIT 1 ATOMIC

STRUCTURE AND
PROPERTIES
 1.
Topic
Elemental Compositions of Pure Substances 3 2
 Pure
Substances
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 Vocabulary
◉ Pure Substance - Matter that has a fixed composition and
distinct properties
◉ Can either be an element or a compound
◉ Law of Definite Proportion - A law that states that the
elemental composition of a substance is always the same
◉ Ratios of the masses of the constituent elements in any pure
sample of that compound is always the same
◉ Formula Weight (FW) - the sum of the atomic weights for the
ic
Ion atoms in a chemical formula
t
◉ Molecular Weight (MW) - the sum of the atomic weights for the
ale n
Cov atoms in a molecule

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 Percent Composition
◉ Percent Composition - The percent composition of a component in a compound is the
percent of the total mass of the compound that is due to that component

◉ Find the molar mass of the compound by adding up the masses of each atom in the
compound using the periodic table
◉ Calculate the mass due to the component in the compound you are for which you are
solving by adding up the mass of these atoms
◉ Divide the mass due to the component by the total molar mass of the compound and
multiply by 100

Mass due to specific component

% composition = x 100
Total molar mass of compound

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 Example 1
◉ Find the percentage of carbon in ethane C2H6

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 Example 1
◉ Find the percentage of carbon in ethane C2H6

C = (2)(12.0) = 24 (2)(12.0)
%C = x 100
(30.048)
H = (6)(1.008) =
6.048 = 79.9% C

C2H6 = 30.048

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 Empirical Formula
◉ Empirical Formula - a chemical formula showing the simplest ratio of elements in a compound
◉ Start with the number of grams of each element, given in the problem.
◉ If percentages are given, assume that the total mass is 100 grams so that the mass of each element = the
percent given.
◉ Convert the mass of each element to moles using the molar mass from the periodic table.
◉ Divide each mole value by the smallest number of moles calculated.
◉ Round to the nearest whole number. This is the mole ratio of the elements and is represented by subscripts in
the empirical formula.
◉ If the number is too far to round (x.1 ~ x.9), then multiply each solution by the same factor to get the lowest
whole number multiple.
◉ e.g. If one solution is 1.5, then multiply each solution in the problem by 2 to get 3.
◉ e.g. If one solution is 1.25, then multiply each solution in the problem by 4 to get 5.
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.

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 Example 2 Sample Exercise 3.13 © 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.

◉ 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?

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 Example 2 Sample Exercise 3.13 © 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.

◉ 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?
(1) For simplicity we assume we have exactly 100 g of material, although any other mass could also be used.
In 100.00 g of ascorbic acid we have 40.92 g C, 4.58 g H, and 54.50 g O.

(2) Next we calculate the number of moles of each element.

(3) We determine the simplest whole-number ratio of moles by dividing

each number of moles by the smallest number of moles.

The ratio for H is too far from 1 to round. 0.33 means we should multiply the ratios by 3 to obtain whole numbers:

Thus, the empirical formula is C3H4O3

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 Molecular Formula
◉ Determine molecular formula (can only determine if given molar mass of substance)
◉ Find mass of empirical formula
◉ Divide the Molar mass by the empirical formula mass to find ratio between the
molecular and the empirical formula
◉ Multiply all atoms (subscripts) in the empirical formula by this ratio

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 Example 3 Sample Exercise 3.14 © 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.

◉ Mesitylene, a hydrocarbon found in crude oil, has an empirical formula of C 3H4 and an
experimentally determined molecular weight of 121 amu. What is its molecular formula?

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 Example 3 Sample Exercise 3.14 © 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.

◉ Mesitylene, a hydrocarbon found in crude oil, has an empirical formula of C 3H4 and an
experimentally determined molecular weight of 121 amu. What is its molecular formula?

(1) Find the formula weight of the empirical formula. 3(12.0 amu) + 4(1.0 amu) = 40.0 amu

(2) Next divide the molecular weight by the empirical formula weight

(3) The 3.03 in this case could result from a small experimental error in
the molecular weight. We therefore multiply each subscript in the
empirical formula by 3 to give the molecular formula:
C9H12

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 Example 4 Sample Exercise 3.15 © 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.

◉ Isopropyl alcohol, sold as rubbing alcohol, is composed of C, H, and O. Combustion of 0.255 g of

isopropyl alcohol produces 0.561 g of CO2 and 0.306 g of H2O. Determine the empirical formula of
isopropyl alcohol.
Analyze - We are told that isopropyl alcohol contains C, H, and O atoms and are given the quantities of CO 2 and H2O produced when a given
quantity of the alcohol is combusted. We must determine the empirical formula for
isopropyl alcohol, a task that requires us to calculate the number of moles of C, H, and O in the sample

Plan - We can use the mole concept to calculate grams of C in the CO 2 and grams of H in the H2O—the masses of
C and H in the alcohol before combustion. The mass of O in the compound equals the mass of the original sample
minus the sum of the C and H masses. Once we have the C, H, and O masses, we can proceed as in Example 2

Solve - Because all of the carbon in the sample is converted to CO 2, we can use dimensional analysis and the
following steps to calculate the mass C in the sample.

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 Sample Exercise 3.15 © 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Example 4 (cont)
Using the values given in this example, the mass of C is

Because all of the hydrogen in the sample is converted to H 2O, we can use dimensional analysis and the following steps to calculate the mass
H in the sample. We use three significant figures for the atomic mass of H to match the significant figures in the mass of H 2O produced.

Using the values given in this example, we find that the mass of H is

The mass of the sample, 0.255 g, is the sum of the masses of C, H, and O. Thus, the O mass is
Mass of O = mass of sample – (mass of C + mass of H) = 0.255 g – (0.153 g + 0.0343 g) = 0.068 g O

The number of moles of C, H, and O in the sample is therefore

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 Sample Exercise 3.15 © 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Example 4 (cont)
To find the empirical formula, we must compare the relative number of moles of each element in the sample, as illustrated in Example 2

The first two numbers are very close to the whole numbers 3 and 8, giving the empirical formula: C3H8O

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 Practice Problem 1

Two different ionic compounds each contain only copper and chlorine. Both
compounds are powders, one white and one brown. An elemental analysis is
performed on each powder. Which of the following questions about the
compounds is most likely to be answered by the results of the analysis?

A. What is the density of each pure compound?

B. What is the formula unit of each compound?
C. What is the chemical reactivity of each compound?
D. Which of the two compounds is more soluble in water?

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 Practice Problem 1

Two different ionic compounds each contain only copper and chlorine. Both
compounds are powders, one white and one brown. An elemental analysis is
performed on each powder. Which of the following questions about the
compounds is most likely to be answered by the results of the analysis?

A. What is the density of each pure compound?

B. What is the formula unit of each compound?
C. What is the chemical reactivity of each compound?
D. Which of the two compounds is more soluble in water?

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 Practice Problem 2
A student has two samples of NaCl , each one from a different source. Assume
that the only potential contaminant in each sample is KCl . The student runs
an experiment to determine the percent by mass of chlorine in each sample.
From the results of this experiment alone, which of the following questions is
most likely to be answered?

A. Which sample has the higher purity?

B. Which sample has the higher density?
C. What is the source of the contaminants present in each of the samples?
D. Which sample came from a salt mine, and which sample came from the
ocean?

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 Practice Problem 2
A student has two samples of NaCl , each one from a different source. Assume
that the only potential contaminant in each sample is KCl . The student runs
an experiment to determine the percent by mass of chlorine in each sample.
From the results of this experiment alone, which of the following questions is
most likely to be answered?

A. Which sample has the higher purity?

B. Which sample has the higher density?
C. What is the source of the contaminants present in each of the samples?
D. Which sample came from a salt mine, and which sample came from the
ocean?

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 Practice Problem 3
A student has samples of two pure compounds, XClO3 and ZClO3 , which
contain unknown alkali metals X and Z . The student measures the mass of
each sample and then strongly heats the samples to drive off all the oxygen,
leaving solid residues of XCl and ZCl . The student measures the mass of the
solid residue from each sample. Which of the following questions can be
answered from the results of the experiment?

A. Which has the greater molar mass, X or Z ?

B. Which has the higher boiling point, X or Z ?
C. Which has the higher melting point, XCl or ZCl ?
D. Which has the greater density, XCl or ZCl ?

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 Practice Problem 3
A student has samples of two pure compounds, XClO3 and ZClO3 , which
contain unknown alkali metals X and Z . The student measures the mass of
each sample and then strongly heats the samples to drive off all the oxygen,
leaving solid residues of XCl and ZCl . The student measures the mass of the
solid residue from each sample. Which of the following questions can be
answered from the results of the experiment?

A. Which has the greater molar mass, X or Z ?

B. Which has the higher boiling point, X or Z ?
C. Which has the higher melting point, XCl or ZCl ?
D. Which has the greater density, XCl or ZCl ?

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 AP Daily Videos Topic 1.3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y72s6IYifOk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyd95y9gO2g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGmbyztdCHE

Review Videos

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