How would you know when you had a mole of a substance for which you knew the formula?

1 Answer
Meave60
Mar 26, 2018

You determine the molar mass (mass of one mole) of the substance. Then obtain that mass using a laboratory balance, and you will have one mole of the substance.

Explanation:

Example:

Obtain one mole of calcium chloride #("CaCl"_2")#.

Determine the molar mass of #"CaCl"_2"# by multiplying the subscript of each element by its molar mass (atomic weight on the periodic table in g/mol).

Molar mass #"CaCl"_2":#

#(1xx"40.078 g/mol Ca") + (2xx"35.453 g/mol Cl")="110.984 g/mol"#

Use a balance to mass out #"110.984 g CaCl"_2"#. This is one mole of calcium chloride.

Related questions
See all questions in The Mole
Impact of this question
2790 views around the world
You can reuse this answer
Creative Commons License