Molecular quantities

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This worksheet introduces the basic concepts of molecular quantities (moles, percent volume, percent
mass, etc.) used in the study of chemistry and chemical reactions.

Question 1

file i00881
H
1
Hydrogen
1.00794

Metalloids

1s1
Li

Symbol

4
3 Be
Beryllium
Lithium
9.012182
6.941
1

2s

K
19
Potassium
39.0983

Name

2s

Electron
configuration

12
Na
11 Mg
Sodium Magnesium
22.989768 24.3050
3s1

He
2
Helium
4.00260

Periodic Table of the Elements

4s

Atomic number

B
Boron
10.81

Atomic mass
(averaged according to
occurence on earth)

2p1

Nonmetals
C

6
Carbon
12.011

2p2

7
Nitrogen
14.0067

2p3

1s2

9
8 F
Fluorine
Oxygen
18.9984
15.9994

2p4

2p5

Ne
10
Neon
20.179
2p6

18
17 Ar
14 P
16 Cl
Al
13 Si
15 S
Argon
Chlorine
Silicon Phosphorus Sulfur
Aluminum
39.948
35.453
28.0855
32.06
26.9815
30.9738

Metals

3s2

3p1

3p2

3p3

3p4

3p5

3p6

31 Ge
30 Ga
29 Zn
28 Cu
27 Ni
26 Co
25 Fe
24 Mn
23 Cr
36
K
19 Ca
20 Sc
22 V
21 Ti
34 Br
33 Se
35 Kr
32 As
Gallium Germanium Arsenic
Zinc
Copper
Nickel
Cobalt
Iron
Vanadium Chromium Manganese
Krypton
Potassium Calcium
Scandium Titanium
Selenium Bromine
63.546
55.847
39.0983
50.9415
83.80
40.078
44.955910
47.88
51.9961
54.93805
58.93320
58.69
65.39
69.723
72.61
78.96
79.904
74.92159
4s1

4s2

3d14s2

3d24s2

3d34s2

3d54s1

3d54s2

3d64s2

3d74s2

3d84s2

3d104s1

3d104s2

4p1

4p2

4p3

4p4

4p5

4p6

5s1

5s2

4d15s2

4d25s2

4d45s1

4d55s1

4d55s2

4d75s1

4d85s1

4d105s0

4d105s1

4d105s2

5p1

5p2

5p3

5p4

5p5

5p6

86
83 Po
82 Bi
81 Pb
80 Tl
79 Hg
78 Au
77 Pt
76 Ir
75 Os
74 Re
57 - 71
85 Rn
56
84 At
73 W
Cs
55 Ba
Hf
72 Ta
Radon
Bismuth
Lead
Thallium
Mercury
Gold
Platinum
Iridium
Osmium
Lanthanide Hafnium
Astatine
Barium
Polonium
Tantalum Tungsten Rhenium
Cesium
series
(222)
208.98037
207.2
204.3833
200.59
196.96654
195.08
192.22
190.2
186.207
(210)
183.85
180.9479
137.327
(209)
132.90543
178.49
6s1

6s2

88
Fr
87 Ra
Radium
Francium
(226)
(223)
1

7s

5d26s2
89 - 103
Actinide
series

(261)
2

6d 7s

Lanthanide
series

6d 7s

Unnilhexium

(263)
4

5d56s2

106 Uns

5d66s2

107

5d76s2

108

5d96s1

5d106s1

5d106s2

6p1

6p2

6p3

6p4

6p5

6p6

109

Unnilseptium

(262)

6d 7s

71
70 Lu
69 Yb
68 Tm
67 Er
66 Ho
65 Dy
64 Tb
63 Gd
62 Eu
61 Sm
60 Pm
59 Nd
58 Pr
La
57 Ce
Lutetium
Ytterbium
Thulium
Erbium
Lanthanum Cerium Praseodymium Neodymium Promethium Samarium Europium Gadolinium Terbium Dysprosium Holmium
174.967
173.04
168.93421
167.26
164.93032
162.50
158.92534
157.25
151.965
150.36
(145)
144.24
140.115 140.90765
138.9055
5d16s2

Actinide
series

(262)
3

5d46s2

105 Unh

Unnilquadium Unnilpentium
2

7s

5d36s2

104 Unp

Unq

4f15d16s2

4f36s2

4f46s2

4f56s2

4f66s2

4f76s2

4f75d16s2

4f96s2

4f106s2

4f116s2

4f126s2

4f136s2

4f146s2

4f145d16s2

103
102 Lr
101 No
100 Md
99 Fm
98 Es
97 Cf
96 Bk
95 Cm
94 Am
93 Pu
92 Np
91 U
90 Pa
Ac
89 Th
Berkelium Californium Einsteinium Fermium Mendelevium Nobelium Lawrencium
Curium
Thorium Protactinium Uranium Neptunium Plutonium Americium
Actinium
(260)
(259)
(258)
(257)
(252)
(251)
(247)
(247)
(243)
(244)
(237)
232.0381 231.03588 238.0289
(227)
6d17s2

6d27s2

5f26d17s2

5f36d17s2

5f46d17s2

5f66d07s2

5f76d07s2

5f76d17s2

5f96d07s2

5f106d07s2

5f116d07s2

5f126d07s2

5f136d07s2

6d07s2

6d17s2

Questions

54
50 Sb
49 Sn
48 In
47 Cd
46 Ag
45 Pd
44 Rh
43 Ru
42 Tc
41 Mo
40 Nb
39 Zr
53 Xe
38 Y
37 Sr
52 I
Rb
51 Te
Xenon
Tin
Indium
Cadmium
Silver
Palladium
Zirconium Niobium Molybdenum Technetium Ruthenium Rhodium
Yttrium
Iodine
Rubidium Strontium
Antimony Tellurium
131.30
88.90585
102.90550
118.710
114.82
112.411
107.8682
106.42
101.07
(98)
95.94
92.90638
91.224
126.905
87.62
85.4678
127.60
121.75

Question 2
A mixture of oxygen and helium gases is prepared for use by scuba divers, mixing the following quantities
of these two gases together:
27 moles of pure oxygen (O2 ) gas
108 moles of pure helium (He) gas
A chemist calculates the mass of this gas mixture in preparation to verify the mixture by means of a
mass scale. In calculating mass, the chemist writes the following mathematical expression:

27 mol O2
32 g
4g
108 mol He
+
1
mol O2
1
mol He
Complete this calculation for the total mass of the oxygen/helium gas mixture, and then explain the
chemists rationale for writing the calculation as she did.
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Question 3
Calculate the mass (in grams) for each of these substance quantities:
1 mole of pure

12

1 mole of carbon (naturally occurring)

1 mole of pure

56

Fe

5.5 moles of mercury (naturally occurring)

0.002 moles of helium (naturally occurring)
Hint: you will find the Periodic Table of the Elements extremely helpful here!
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Question 4
Suppose a chemist asks you to provide her with a beaker containing 2.6 moles of pure sulfuric acid
(H2 SO4 ). You have no way to directly measure moles of acid when you go to retrieve the acid from a
storage tank and pour it into the beaker, so how do you fulfill the chemists request?
file i02580
Question 5
Calculate the mass (in grams) for each of these substance quantities (when calculating, round all atomic
masses to the nearest hundredth):

1 mole of water: H2 O
1 mole of heavy water (deuterium oxide, or D2 O)
1 mole of sulfuric acid: H2 SO4
14 moles of methane: CH4
5 moles of ammonium carbonate: (NH4 )2 CO3

Note: deuterium is an isotope of hydrogen, each atom containing one proton and one neutron in the
nucleus.
file i00567

Question 6
Calculate the mass of the following quantities of pure chemical compound. In each case, feel free to use
atomic mass values rounded to the nearest whole number (from a Periodic Table) in your calculations:
35.2 moles of alumina Al2 O3 at 25 o C
10.6 moles of nitroglycerine C3 H5 N3 O9 at 77 o C
3.7 moles of phosgene COCl2 at 145 o F
130 moles of tetraethyl pyrophosphate or TEPP [(CH3 CH2 O)2 PO]2 O at -10 o F

Suggestions for Socratic discussion

Demonstrate how to estimate numerical answers for this problem without using a calculator.
file i04113
Question 7
Calculate the mass of 2.1 moles of ammonium carbonate (NH4 )2 CO3 . Feel free to use atomic mass
values rounded to the nearest whole number (from a Periodic Table) in your calculation.
Suggestions for Socratic discussion
Demonstrate how to estimate numerical answers for this problem without using a calculator.
file i04117
Question 8
Calculate the mass of 55.4 moles of alumina (Al2 O3 ). Feel free to use atomic mass values rounded to
the nearest whole number (from a Periodic Table) in your calculation.
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Question 9
Calculate the mass of 3.4 moles of glutaric anhydride, the line drawing for this organic molecule shown
here:

O
C6H5

O
O

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Question 10
A sample of table salt (sodium chloride, NaCl) has a mass of 10 kg. How many moles of salt is this
equal to?
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Question 11
Calculate the molar quantity (n, in moles) for the following quantities of pure chemical substances.
Feel free to use atomic mass values rounded to the nearest whole number (from a Periodic Table) in your
calculations:
500 grams of pure iron at 10 o C and 1.2 atmospheres
1.1 kilograms of pure propane C3 H8 at -30 o C and 3 atmospheres
250 kilograms of naphthalene C10 H8 at 0 o C and 45 kPaA
71 grams of hexafluoroacetone (CF3 )2 CO at 110 o F and 50 bar (gauge)

Suggestions for Socratic discussion

What effects do temperature and pressure have on the mass of a sample?
Demonstrate how to estimate numerical answers for this problem without using a calculator.
Does the phase of the substance (i.e. gas, liquid, solid) matter in these calculations? Why or why not?
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Question 12
Calculate the number of moles of glycoluril required to make a total mass of 2 kg. The line drawing
for this organic molecule is shown here:

O
N

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Question 13
When acid attacks metal, the result is typically a release of hydrogen gas and the production of a salt. If
we immerse a piece of solid zinc metal (Zn) is into liquid sulfuric acid (H2 SO4 ), we see this general tendency
in the production of hydrogen gas (H2 ) and a salt called zinc sulfate (ZnSO4 ). The chemical equation
describing this reaction is shown here:
Zn + H2 SO4 ZnSO4 + H2
For every single atom of zinc, it takes one molecule of sulfuric acid to react. The reaction products for
the one atom of zinc and one molecule of sulfuric acid will be one molecule of zinc sulfate and one molecule
of hydrogen.
Identify how many moles of zinc metal and how many moles of pure sulfuric acid will be required to
produce 15 moles of hydrogen gas.
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Question 14
Dilute chemical concentrations are often measured in the unit of parts per million, abbreviated ppm.
For extremely dilute solutions, the unit parts per billion (ppb) is used. These are nothing more than ratios,
much like percentage. In fact, the unit of percent may be thought of as nothing more than parts per
hundred although it is never conventionally expressed as such.
In light of this definition for ppm, express the tolerance of a 5% carbon-composition resistor in ppm
instead of percent.
Also calculate the following volumetric and mass concentrations in units of ppm:
3.6 milliliters of methyl alcohol mixed into 10.5 liters of pure water
55 cubic inches of natural gas released into a room of air 10 feet by 15 feet by 8 feet
10 grams of hydrofluoric acid added to 560 kg of water
140 grams of H2 S gas released into open air
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Question 15
Dilute chemical concentrations are often measured in the unit of parts per million, abbreviated ppm.
For extremely dilute solutions, the unit parts per billion (ppb) is used. These are nothing more than ratios,
much like percentage. In fact, the unit of percent may be thought of as nothing more than parts per
hundred although it is never conventionally expressed as such.
In light of this definition for ppm, calculate the following volumetric and mass quantities:
The quantity of hydrazine vapor in 34000 cubic feet of air, where the volumetric concentration of
hydrazine is 2.3 ppm
The quantity of H2 S gas in a room measuring 25 feet by 8 feet by 31 feet, where the volumetric
concentration of hydrogen sulfide gas is 93 ppm
The quantity of sulfuric acid in 50 kg of water, where the mass concentration of acid is 247 ppm
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Question 16
What does it mean if a particular sample of ethyl alcohol has a molarity of 0.1 M , or 0.1 molar?
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Question 17
If a 2 kilogram sample of pure water is mixed with 1 gram of pure H2 SO4 , what will the resulting sulfuric
acids molality be? Note: I am asking you to calculate molality (m), not molarity (M ), of the acid solution!
file i03005
Question 18
Calculate the sodium ion molarity of a solution made from 0.05 moles of table salt (NaCl) completely
dissolved in 30 cups of water.
Calculate the chlorine ion molarity of a solution made from 0.05 moles of table salt (NaCl) completely
dissolved in 30 cups of water.
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Question 19
A pressure cylinder containing hydrogen gas at a pressure of 2000 PSIG (137 atmospheres) was filled
by a technician at Acme Hydrogen, Inc. Unfortunately, the technician doesnt remember if he filled it with
regular hydrogen gas (1 H2 ) or with heavy hydrogen gas (deuterium, 2 H2 ). Assuming the cylinder has an
empty weight of 37.1 pounds, and now weighs 38.36 pounds, determine the type of hydrogen gas its filled
with.
The cylinder has an interior volume of 25 liters and is at ambient temperature of 20 o C.
Hint: the Ideal Gas Law relates pressure, volume, molecular quantity, and temperature for most gases:
P V = nRT
Where,
P = Absolute pressure (atmospheres)
V = Volume (liters)
n = Gas quantity (moles)
R = Universal gas constant (0.0821 L atm / mol K)
T = Absolute temperature (K) = degrees Celcius (o C) + 273.15
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Answers
Answer 1
Answer 2

27 mol O2
1

32 g
mol O2

108 mol He
1

4g
mol He

= 1296 g = 1.296 kg

32 g
expresses the proportionality between grams of mass and moles of oxygen gas, as
mol O2
4 g
a unity fraction. The fraction
does the same for helium gas. This allows the chemist to proceed
1 mol He
with calculations of mass as though it were nothing more than a simple unit conversion problem, with units
of moles canceling to leave no unit left except for grams.

The fraction

Answer 3
1 mole of pure

12

C = 12 g

1 mole of carbon (naturally occurring) = 12.011 g

1 mole of pure

56

Fe = 56 g

5.5 moles of mercury (naturally occurring) = 1.1032 kg

0.002 moles of helium (naturally occurring) = 8.0052 mg
To calculate each of these masses, simply multiply the number of moles by the atomic mass given or
found in the periodic table.
Answer 4
You might not be able to directly measure moles of acid, but you can certainly obtain a mass balance
or scale to measure grams of acid!
Sulfuric acid H2 SO4 has a molecular weight (approximately) equal to:
(2)(1) + (32)(1) + (16)(4) = 98 amu
This means 1 mole of pure sulfuric acid will have a mass of 98 grams. We may use this equivalence to
set up a unity fraction and treat this as a units-conversion problem:

2.6 mol acid

98 g
= 254.8 g
1
1 mol acid
So, you just fill up the beaker with 254.8 grams of pure sulfuric acid, and you will have filled it with 2.6
moles of acid!

Answer 5
Each molecule of H2 O contains:
2 atoms of H at 1.01 amu each
1 atom of O at 16 amu each
(1 mol)[(2 atoms)(1.01 amu/atom) + (1 atom)(16 amu/atom)] = 18.02 g
Each molecule of D2 O contains:
2 atoms of D (H2 ) at 2 amu each
1 atom of O at 16 amu each
(1 mol)[(2 atoms)(2 amu/atom) + (1 atom)(16 amu/atom)] = 20 g

Each molecule of H2 SO4 contains:

2 atoms of H at 1.01 amu each
1 atom of S at 32.06 amu each
4 atoms of O at 16 amu each
(1 mol)[(2 atoms)(1.01 amu/atom) + (1 atom)(32.06 amu/atom) + (4 atoms)(16 amu/atom)] = 98.08

g
Each molecule of CH4 contains:
1 atom of C at 12.01 amu each
4 atoms of H at 1.01 amu each
(14 mol)[(1 atom)(12.01 amu/atom) + (4 atoms)(1.01 amu/atom)] = 224.7 g

Each molecule of (NH4 )2 CO3 contains:

2 atoms of N at 14.01 amu each
8 atoms of H at 1.01 amu each
1 atom of C at 12.01 amu each
3 atoms of O at 16 amu each

(5 mol)[(2 atoms)(14.01 amu/atom) + (8 atoms)(1.01 amu/atom) + (1 atom)(12.01 amu/atom) + (3

atoms)(16 amu/atom)] = 480.55 g
Answer 6
35.2 moles of alumina Al2 O3 at 25 o C = 3590.4 grams = 3.5904 kg
10.6 moles of nitroglycerine C3 H5 N3 O9 at 77 o C = 2406.2 grams = 2.4062 kg
3.7 moles of phosgene COCl2 at 145 o F = 366.3 grams = 0.3663 kg
130 moles of tetraethyl pyrophosphate or TEPP [(CH3 CH2 O)2 PO]2 O at -10 o F = 37,700 grams =
37.700 kg
Answer 7
m = 201.6 grams = 0.2016 kg
Answer 8
m = 5648.4 grams = 5.6484 kg

Answer 9
Converting the line drawing into a molecular formula, we get C11 H10 O3 . Remember that the general
rule for interpreting line drawings is that every vertex or intersection of lines marks the location of one carbon
atom having four bonds, and that any bonds not shown are bonds to hydrogen atoms. The molecular weight
for this formula is approximated as follows:
(12)(11) + (1)(10) + (16)(3) = 190 amu = 190 grams per mole glutaric anhydride
Calculating mass given the molar quantity of this compound:

3.4 mol glutaric anhydride

190 g
= 646 g
1
mol glutaric anhydride
Answer 10
Table salt is sodium chloride (NaCl), with 1 atom of sodium bound to 1 atom of chlorine. Together,
the number of atomic mass units (amu) for each sodium chloride molecule is the sum of the individual atoms
atomic masses:
Each molecule of NaCl contains:
1 atom of Na at 22.99 amu each
1 atom of Cl at 35.45 amu each
[(1 atom)(22.99 amu/atom) + (1 atom)(35.45 amu/atom)] = 58.44 g per mole of NaCl
Since we now know the number of grams per mole for NaCl, we may calculate the number of moles
needed to make 10 kg (10000 g) of salt:
(10000 g)(1 mol / 58.44 g) = 171.1 mol
Therefore, 10 kg of table salt is equal to 171.1 moles.
Answer 11
500 grams of pure iron at 10 o C and 1.2 atmospheres = 8.953 moles
1.1 kilograms of pure propane C3 H8 at -30 o C and 3 atmospheres = 25 moles
250 kilograms of naphthalene C10 H8 at 0 o C and 45 kPaA = 1953 moles
71 grams of hexafluoroacetone (CF3 )2 CO at 110 o F and 50 bar (gauge) = 0.4277 moles

10

Answer 12
Converting the line drawing into a molecular formula, we get C4 H6 N4 O2 . Remember that the general
rule for interpreting line drawings is that every vertex or intersection of lines marks the location of one carbon
atom having four bonds, and that any bonds not shown are bonds to hydrogen atoms. The molecular weight
for this formula is approximated as follows:
(12)(4) + (1)(6) + +(14)(4) + (16)(2) = 142 amu = 142 grams per mole glycoluril
Calculating moles given the mass of this sample:

2000 g
mol glycoluril
= 14.08 mol glycoluril
1
142 g
Answer 13
15 moles of zinc and 15 moles of sulfuric acid are needed to produce 15 moles of hydrogen gas, since the
molecular ratio for all reactants and products is 1:1.
Answer 14
5% (gold color code) is 50,000 ppm.
3.6 milliliters of methyl alcohol mixed into 10.5 liters of pure water = 342.74 ppm If your calculated
answer was 342.86 ppm, you made a minor error: you took 10.5 liters to be the total volume of liquid
after adding the alcohol. 10.5 liters is just the waters volume, not the total solution (mixed) volume!
55 cubic inches of natural gas released into a room of air 10 feet by 15 feet by 8 feet = 26.523 ppm
10 grams of hydrofluoric acid added to 560 kg of water = 17.86 ppm
140 grams of H2 S gas released into open air = not enough information given to solve!
Answer 15
The quantity of 2.3 ppm (by volume) hydrazine vapor in 34000 cubic feet of air = 0.0782 cubic feet
of pure hydrazine vapor
The quantity of 93 ppm (by volume) H2 S gas in a room measuring 25 feet by 8 feet by 31 feet = 0.5766
cubic feet of pure H2 S gas
The quantity of 247 ppm (by mass) sulfuric acid in 50 kg of water = 12.35 grams of pure sulfuric
acid
Answer 16
For a solution of 0.1 molar (0.1 M ) concentration, there are 0.1 moles of solute (pure ethyl alcohol)
for every 1 liter of total solution volume. It should be noted that the molarity of a solution changes with
temperature, because a solutions volume will change with temperature even though the quantity of solute
in moles does not!

11

Answer 17
Molality is defined as the number of moles of solute per kilograms of solvent (not of the total solution!).
We were given the solvent mass in kilograms (2 kg) already. All we need to know is the molar quantity of
the pure acid and we can solve for molality.
First, lets tally the number of grams per mole for H2 SO4 , based on the atomic mass units (amu) for
the constituent elements:
For H2 SO4 , each molecule contains:
2 atoms of H at 1.01 amu each
1 atom of S at 32.06 amu each
4 atoms of O at 16 amu each
This gives a total of 98.08 grams per mole of pure H2 SO4 .
This figure may be used as a unity fraction to convert moles into grams, or grams into moles. For our
application, we need to convert the given mass of 1 gram into moles:
(1 g)(1 mol / 98.08 g) = 0.0102 mol
Taking this quantity in moles and dividing by the mass of solvent (2 kg) gives us the molality of the
acid solution:
0.0102 mol / 2 kg = 0.0051 m
Answer 18
Molarity of sodium ions in the saltwater solution = 0.05 mol / 7.098 liters = 0.007045 M
Molarity of chlorine ions in the saltwater solution = 0.05 mol / 7.098 liters = 0.007045 M
The molarities are equal because sodium chloride (NaCl) completely dissociates into Na+ and Cl ions
in solution, with equal molecular quantities. For every mole of Na+ originating from the salt, there will be
one mole of Cl in the solution as well.
Answer 19
One problem-solving strategy would be to calculate the number of moles (n) of gas filling this cylinder
at the stated conditions of 2000 PSIG, 25 liters, and 20 o C. 2000 PSIG is equivalent to 137 atmospheres of
absolute pressure. 20 o C is equivalent to 293.15 Kelvin absolute temperature. Solving for n:
P V = nRT
n=

(137)(25)
PV
=
= 142.3 moles of gas
RT
(0.0821)(293.15)

The weight of the gas is simply the current weight of the cylinder minus the cylinders empty weight:
38.36 37.1 = 1.26 lb = 0.5715 kg = 571.5 grams
Taking the ratio of grams to moles tells us the molecular weight of the gas filling the cylinder:
571.5 g
= 4.02 amu
142.3 mol
The gas in question must be deuterium (heavy hydrogen, 2 H2 ), with each molecule having an atomic
mass of 4.

12