Chemical formulas percent composition

We illustrate how the mass percent composition of a compound is related to its chemical formula using ammonium nitrate (NH4 NO3). The molar masses of NH4 NO3 and its constituent elements can be used to convert the chemical formula into mass percentages. 

The elemental analysis of a compound is usually determined by a laboratory that specializes in this technique. A chemist who has prepared a new compound sends a sample to the laboratory for analysis. The laboratory charges a fee that depends on the type and number of elements analyzed. The results are returned to the chemist as a listing of mass percent composition. The chemist must then figure out which chemical formula matches this composition. If a chemist has reason to expect a particular chemical formula, the observed percentages can be matched against the calculated percentages for the expected formula. This process is illustrated in Example 3-13. 

In the problem above, we determined the percentage data from the chemical formula. We can determine the empirical formula if we know the percent compositions of the various elements. The empirical formula tells us what elements are present in the compound and the simplest whole-number ratio of elements. The data may be in terms of percentage, or mass or even moles. However, the procedure is still the same—convert each element to moles, divide each by the smallest, and then use an appropriate multiplier if necessary. We can then determine the empirical formula mass. If we know the actual molecular mass, dividing the molecular formula mass by the empirical formula mass, gives an integer (rounded if needed) that we can multiply each of the subscripts in the empirical formula. This gives the molecular (actual) formula, which tells what elements are in the compound and the actual number of each. 

Be able to calculate the empirical formula from percent composition data or quantities from chemical analysis. 

Knowing a compound s percent composition makes it possible to calculate the compound s chemical formula. As shown in Figure 3.8, the strategy is to find the relative number of moles of each element in the compound and then use the numbers to establish the mole ratios of the elements. The mole ratios, in turn, give the subscripts in the chemical formula. 

The chemical makeup of a substance is described by its percent composition—the percentage of the substance s mass due to each of its constituent elements. Elemental analysis is used to calculate a substance s empirical formula, which gives the smallest whole-number ratio of atoms of the elements in the compound. To determine the molecular formula, which may be a simple multiple of the empirical formula, it s also necessary to know the substance s molecular mass. Molecular masses are usually determined by mass spectrometry. 

Stoichiometry is the series of calculations on the basis of formulas and chemical equations and will be covered in Chapter 4. The use of conversion factors is common even when the relative proportions are not fixed by a chemical formula. Consider a silver alloy used for jewelry production. (Alloys are mixtures of metals and, as mixtures, may be produced in differing ratios of the metals.) A particular alloy contains 86 percent silver. Factors based on this composition, such as... 

In the previous section the problems presented a chemical formula and asked for the percent composition. There is a method for going from percent composition to chemical formula however, you will obtain only the empirical formula from this. The three steps in determining the empirical formula of a compound from the percent composition are as follows ... 

The meaning of a chemical formula was discussed in Chapter 5, and we learned how to interpret formulas in terms of the numbers of atoms of each element per formula unit. In this chapter, we will learn how to calculate the number of grams of each element in any given quantity of a compound from its formula and to do other calculations involving formulas. Formula masses are presented in Section 7.1, and percent composition is considered in Section 7.2. Section 7.3 discusses the mole—the basic chemical quantity of any substance. Moles can be used to count atoms, molecules, or ions and to calculate the mass of any known number of formula units of a substance. Section 7.4 shows how to use relative mass data to determine empirical formulas, and the method is extended to molecular formulas in Section 7.5. 

Percent composition from the chemicai formuia If you already know the chemical formula for a compound such as water (H2O), can you calculate its percent composition The answer is yes. You can use the chemical formula to calculate the molar mass of water (18.02 g/mol) and assume you have an 18.02-g sample. Because the percent composition of a compound is always the same, no matter the size of the sample, you can assume that the sample... 

The data used to determine the chemical formula for a compound may be in the form of percent composition or it may be the actual masses of the elements in a given mass of the compound. If percent composition is given, you can assume that the total mass of the compound is 100.00 g and that the percent by mass of each element is equal to the mass of that element in grams. For example, the percent composition of an oxide of sulfiir is 40.05% S and 59.95% O. Thus, as you can see in Figure 11-10, 100.00 g of the oxide contains 40.05 g S and 59.95 g O. The mass of each element can be converted to a number of moles by multiplying by the inverse of the molar mass. Recall that the number of moles of S and O are calculated in this way. 

Would it surprise you to learn that two or more substances with distinctly different properties can have the same percent composition and the same empirical formula How is this possible Remember that the subscripts in an empirical formula indicate the simplest whole-number ratio of moles of the elements in the compound. But the simplest ratio does not always indicate the actual number of moles in the compound. To identify a new compound, a chemist must go one step further and determine the molecular formula, which specifies the actual number of atoms of each element in one molecule or formula unit of the substance. Figure 11-11 shows an important use of the gas, acetylene. It has the same percent composition and empirical formula, CH, as benzene which is a liquid. Yet chemically and structurally acetylene and benzene are very different. 

If the formula of a compound is known, its chemical composition can be expressed as the mass percent of each element in the compound (percent composition). For example, one... 

Elemental analysis is the cornerstone of all chemical inquiry. Almost before one asks what is it , one asks what is its percent composition . From such data, a chemist writes the first empirical formula, and later a molecular formula. If the substance is very similar to a known compound, the chemist may well infer that it is a simple modification of the molecular formula. Or, if the unknown substance is extracted from a plant or microorganism, an educated guess about its structure may be made, based on the formulas of other compounds extracted from the same source. 

For analysis of the differences between incineration with air and oxygen a reference chemical formula for solid waste was generated. Much of the waste is paper and plant refuse composed primarily of cellulose. Plastic, fats and grease, as well as a small amount of protein, were included. Water was included since most waste is damp. Small amounts of chlorine from plastics such as vinyl chloride, and sulfur from protein and rubber were included. Table 8.1 A shows the amounts (in weight percent) of components of the reference waste. Table 8.IB shows the elemental chemical composition of the reference waste derived from the components. 

Percent composition can be determined from the chemical formula of a compound. 

The fact that we can determine the empirical formula of a compound if we know the percent composition allows us to identify compounds experimentally. The procedure is as follows. First, chemical analysis tells us the number of grams of each element present in a given amount of a compound. Then we convert the qnantities in grams to nnmber of moles of each element. Finally, using the method given in Example 3.9, we find the empirical formnla of the compound. 

Empirical Formula from Percent Composition Methyl acetate is a solvent commonly used in some paints, inks, and adhesives. Determine the empirical formula for methyl acetate, which has the following chemical analysis ... 

Luminol Crime-scene investigators use luminol to visuaHze blood residue. Research luminol and determine its chemical formula and percent composition. 

Chemical stoichiometry is the area of study that considers the quantities of materials in chemical formulas and equations. Quite simply, it is chemical arithmetic. The word itself is derived from stoicheion, the Greek word for element and metron, the Greek word for measure. When based on chemical formulas, stoichiometry is used to convert between mass and moles, to calculate the number of atoms, to calculate percent composition, and to interpret the mole ratios expressed in a chemical formula. Most topics in chemical arithmetic depend on the interpretation of balanced chemical equations. Mass/mole conversions, calculation of limiting reagent and percent yield, and various relationships among reactants and products are commonly included in this topic area. 

To determine percent composition for a chemical formula, do the following ... 

Saccharide Chemical formula Typical percent composition (%)... 

When a new molecule is synthesized, an elemental analysis is routinely performed to help verify its identity. This test, which measures the mass percentage of each element in the compound, is also Ifequendy done as part of the process of identifying any substance whose composition is unknown. The mass percentages describe the compound s composition, and so they must be related to its chemical formula. But the data obtained from elemental analysis describe the composition in terms of the mass of each element, whereas the formula describes the composition in terms of the number of atoms of each element. So these are two different representations of very similar information, and the molar masses of the elements provide a connection between them. The process of obtaining the empirical formula of a compound from its percent composition by mass is best illustrated by an example. 

To continue our study of moleeules and ionic compounds, we leam how to calculate the percent composition of these species from their chemical formulas. (3.5)... 

Knowing the chemical formula and the molecular mass of a compound enables us to calculate the percent composition by mass—the percent by mass of each element in a compound. It is useful to know the percent composition by mass if, for example, we needed to verify the purity of a compound for use in a laboratory experiment. From the formula we could calculate what percent of the total mass of the compound is contributed by each element. Then, by comparing the result to the percent composition obtained experimentally for our sample, we could determine the purity of the sample. Mathematically, the percent composition is obtained by dividing the mass of each element in 1 mole of the compound by the molar mass of the compound and multiplying by 100 percent ... 

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