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Quantitative Chemistry
infoWhy this? This unit shows pupils how chemists measure substances and reactions, using ideas such as conservation of mass, relative formula mass, moles and yields to make chemistry precise and predictive.
scheduleWhy now? It is taught after formulae so pupils can calculate with substances they already know how to describe and represent.
neurologyYou need to know
- The law of conservation of mass states that atoms are not created or destroyed in a chemical reaction, so the total mass of reactants equals the total mass of products in a closed system.
- A balanced symbol equation has the same number of each type of atom on both sides of the equation because atoms are rearranged, not lost or made.
- In an open container, a reaction may appear to lose mass if a gaseous product escapes, or appear to gain mass if a gaseous reactant from the air is used.
- Chemical formulae show the elements present in a substance and the number of atoms or ions of each element in one formula unit.
- State symbols identify physical states in equations: solid is `(s)`, liquid is `(l)`, gas is `(g)`, and aqueous solution is `(aq)`.
- A mole is an amount of substance containing `6.02 × 10^23` particles, called the Avogadro constant.
- The particles counted by a mole can be atoms, molecules, ions, electrons, or formula units, depending on the substance.
- The relative atomic mass, `A_r`, is the weighted mean mass of an atom of an element compared with one twelfth of the mass of a carbon-12 atom.
- The relative formula mass, `M_r`, is the sum of the relative atomic masses of all the atoms shown in a chemical formula.
- The molar mass of an element or compound is numerically equal to its `A_r` or `M_r`, but it has the unit grams per mole.
- The number of moles is calculated using `moles = mass ÷ molar mass`.
- The mass of a substance is calculated using `mass = moles × molar mass`.
- Percentage abundance means the proportion of each isotope in a sample of an element, expressed as a percentage.
- The relative atomic mass of an element with isotopes is found from the sum of each isotope mass multiplied by its fractional or percentage abundance.
- The balancing numbers in a chemical equation give the mole ratio of reactants and products in the reaction.
- For example, `Mg + 2HCl → MgCl₂ + H₂` means one mole of magnesium reacts with two moles of hydrochloric acid to form one mole of magnesium chloride and one mole of hydrogen.
- The limiting reactant is the reactant that is completely used up first and therefore determines the maximum amount of product that can form.
- A reactant in excess is present in a greater amount than needed, so some of it remains unreacted when the limiting reactant is used up.
- Concentration in grams per cubic decimetre is the mass of solute dissolved in each cubic decimetre of solution, so `concentration = mass ÷ volume`.
- At room temperature and pressure, one mole of any gas occupies a volume of about `24 dm³`.
rocket_launchYou must be able to
- Balance a chemical equation by changing coefficients only, checking that the number of atoms of each element is equal on both sides.
- Calculate an unknown mass in a reaction using conservation of mass by adding the known reactant masses and product masses and finding the missing value.
- Calculate relative formula mass by multiplying each element’s `A_r` by the number of its atoms in the formula and adding the totals.
- Calculate relative atomic mass from isotope data by multiplying each isotope mass by its percentage abundance, adding the results, and dividing by 100.
- Convert between mass, moles, and molar mass using `moles = mass ÷ molar mass` and `mass = moles × molar mass`, with mass in grams.
- Use a balanced equation to calculate an unknown mass by converting the known mass to moles, applying the mole ratio, and converting the answer back to grams.
- Identify the limiting reactant by comparing the available moles of reactants with the mole ratio required by the balanced equation.
- Calculate concentration, mass, or volume of a solution using the relationship between mass of solute, volume of solution, and concentration in `g/dm³`.
- Calculate an unknown concentration from a neutralisation reaction by using the balanced equation mole ratio and the measured volumes of acid and alkali.
- Calculate gas volumes at room temperature and pressure by converting between moles and volume using `1 mol = 24 dm³`, then applying the mole ratio from the balanced equation.
Revision Quiz
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