Composition of Substances and Solutions (The Mole)

Resources on these topics pages are here to assist you in your mastery of course content. None of the work, etc, on these pages are 'required,' so to speak. It is provided for you to use as fits into your overall approach to studying for this course. 

• General and detailed objectives give you an idea of how you will be assessed over each objective and can serve as a 'study guide' of sorts

• Slides are the raw material from which I build my in-class lectures. Annotated slides will be provided after lectures on the course schedule.

• When available, Reading Guides are provided to assist you in taking and organizing notes as you read the textbook. 

• Any supplemental videos provided are produced by myself other chemistry education professionals.

• Any additional practice provided contains answer keys, so that you may check your work.

The Mole Objectives

1. Explain the concept of the mole, and use molar mass in calculations 

2. Derive compound formulas from experimental data: % composition, empirical formulas 

3. Determine the concentration of solutions using several different concentration units 

Objective 1: Explain the concept of the mole, and use molar mass in calculations 

• • Read Section 2. 4 - Chemical Formulas  (The Mole section only)

Upon successful completion of this objective you should be able to;

• • Calculate formula masses for covalent and ionic compounds

  • Define the amount unit mole and the related quantity Avogadro’s number Explain the relation between mass, moles, and numbers of atoms or molecules, and perform calculations deriving these quantities from one another

Important note: We will be converting between moles and mass A LOT during the semester. 'The Mole' and mole conversions are perhaps the most common recurring theme throughout chemistry. The importance of this skill/concept cannot be stressed enough.

Objective 2: Derive compound formulas from experimental data: % composition, empirical formulas 

Tasks:

• • Read Section 6.2 - Determining Empirical and Molecular Formulas

Upon successful completion of this objective you should be able to;

• • Compute the percent composition of a compound

  • Determine the empirical formula of a compound

  • Determine the molecular formula of a compound

Objective 3: Determine the concentration of solutions using several different concentration units

Tasks:

• • Read Section 6.3 - Molarity

  • Read Section 6.4 - Other Units for Solution Concentrations

Upon successful completion of this objective you should be able to;

• • Describe the fundamental properties of solutions

  • Calculate solution concentrations using molarity

  • Perform dilution calculations using the dilution equation

  • Define the concentration units of mass percentage, volume percentage, mass-volume percentage, parts-per-million (ppm), and parts-per-billion (ppb)