AP Chemistry
Ch. 3 Sections 3.5-3.6 Notes
Percent Composition of Compounds, Determining the Formula of a Compound
Percent Composition of Compounds
• There are two common ways to describe the composition of a compound: the numbers of its
constituents atoms (chemical formula) or by percentages (by mass) of its elements (percent
composition).
• The mass percents of the elements in a compound can be determined by comparing the mass
of each element present in 1 mole of the compound to the total mass of 1 mole of the
compound.
mass of element in 1 mole of compound
• Mass percent of element = x 100%
mass of 1 mole of compound
• Example:
• Find the percent composition of the compound N2O5.
• Solution: First determine the mass of each element in the compound.
• We know that 1 mol of N2O5 must contain 2 mol N and 5 mol O. The number of grams of N
and O are found as follows:
14.01 g
Mass of N = 2 mol x = 28.02 g N
1 mol
•
16.00 g
Mass of O = 5 mol x = 80.00 g O
1 mol
• Total mass of compound =
• 28.02 g N + 80.00 g O = 108.02 g N2O5
• The mass percent of N and O in N2O5 can be computed by comparing the mass of N and O in
1 mole of N2O5 to the total mass of 1 mole of N2O5.
28.02 g
Mass percent of N = x 100% = 25.94% N
108.02 g
•
80.00 g
Mass percent of O = x 100% = 74.06% O
108.02 g
• Notice the percents add up to 100.00%; this provides a check that the calculations are correct.
• Example:
• A sample of a liquid with a mass of 8.657 g was decomposed into its elements and gave
5.217 g of carbon, 0.9620 g of hydrogen, and 2.478 g of oxygen. What is the percent
composition of this compound?
• Solution:
• We can apply an equation for the percent by mass of an element to each element. The “mass
of whole sample” here is 8.657 g so we can take each element in turn and perform the
calculations.
mass of element
• % by mass of element = x 100%
mass of whole sample
5.217 g
For C : x 100% = 60.26% C
8.657 g
0.9620 g
For H : x 100% = 11.11 % H
8.657 g
2.478 g
For O : x 100% = 28.62% O
8.657 g
• The percentages must add up to 100%, allowing for small differences caused by rounding.
• Sum of percentages: 99.99%
Determining the Formula of a Compound
• When a new compound is prepared, one of the first items of interest is the formula of the
compound.
• For example, the compound that forms when phosphorus burns in oxygen consists of
molecules with the formula P4O10.
• When a formula gives the composition of one molecule, it is called a molecular formula.
• Molecular formula: the exact formula of a molecule, giving the types of atoms and the
number of each type.
• Notice that in the formula P4O10 that both the subscripts 4 and 10 are divisible by 2, so the
smallest numbers that tell us the ratio of P to O are 2 and 5.
• In a simpler kind of formula, the empirical formula, the subscripts are the smallest whole
numbers that describe the ratios of the atoms in the substance.
• Empirical formula: the simplest whole number ratio of atoms in a compound.
• It is quite common for the empirical and molecular formulas to be different; some examples
are shown in Figure 3.6 in your textbook.
• Example: Calculating an Empirical Formula from Percent Composition
• A white powder used in paints, enamels, and ceramics has the following percent
composition: Ba, 69.58%, C, 6.090%, and O, 24.32%. What is its empirical formula?
• Solution:
• Since mass percentage gives the number of grams of a particular element per 100 grams of
compound, base the calculation on 100 grams of compound. Each percent will then represent
the mass in grams of that element.
• If we have 100 g of the above compound, based on the percentages we would have 69.58 g of
Ba, 6.090 g of C, and 24.32 g of O.
• Determine the number of moles of each element present in 100 grams of compound using the
atomic masses of the elements present.
1 mol Ba
Ba : 69.58 g Ba x = 0.5067 mol Ba
137.33 g Ba
1 mol C
• C : 6.090 g C x = 0.5071 mol C
12.01 g C
1 mol O
O : 24.32 g O x = 1.520 mol O
16.00 g O
• Divide each value of the number of moles by the smallest of the values. If each resulting
number is a whole number (after appropriate rounding), these numbers represent the
subscripts of the elements in the empirical formula.
• If the numbers obtained in the previous process are not whole numbers, multiply each
number by an integer so that the results are all whole numbers.
0.5067
Ba : =1
0.5067
0.5070
• C: = 1.001 = 1
0.5067
1.520
O: = 3.000 = 3
0.5067
• The coefficients are acceptably close to whole numbers, so the empirical formula is
BaCO3.
• Example: One compound of mercury with a molar mass of 519 contains 77.26% Hg, 9.25%
C, and 1.17% H (with the balance being O). Calculate the empirical and molecular formulas,
arranging the symbols in the order HgCHO.
• Solution:
• First obtain the empirical formula.
• Assume a 100 g sample therefore, we have 77.26 g Hg, 9.25 g C, 1.17 g H, and 12.32 g O.
• The amount of oxygen was determined by subtracting the total amounts of the other three
elements from the total assumed mass of 100 g.
• Convert each of these masses into moles.
1 mol Hg
Hg : 77.26 g Hg x = 0.3852 mol Hg
200.59 g Hg
1 mol C
C : 9.25 g C x = 0.770 mol C
12.01 g C
•
1 mol H
H : 1.17 g H x = 1.16 mol H
1.01 g H
1 mol O
O : 12.32 g O x = 0.7700 mol O
16.00 g O
• Divide each number of moles by the smallest number of moles.
0.3852
Hg : = 1.000 = 1 Hg
0.3852
0.770
C: = 2.00 = 2 C
0.3852
•
1.16
H: = 3.01 = 3 H
0.3852
0.7700
O: = 1.999 = 2 O
0.3852
• Empirical Formula: HgC2H3O2
• Compute the mass corresponding to the empirical formula.
• (1 Hg x 200.59 amu) + (2 C x 12.01 amu) + (3 H x 1.01 amu) + (2 O x 16.00 amu) = 259.64
g/mol
• Calculate the ratio:
Molar Mass 519 g / mol
• = = 2.00
Empirical Formula Mass 259.64 g / mol
• The integer from the previous step represents the number of empirical formula units in one
molecule. When the empirical formula subscripts are multiplied by this integer, the
molecular formula results.
• Molecular formula = 2(HgC2H3O2) = Hg2C4H6O4
