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Activity 1.3: Activity: Familiarizing With Avogadro's Constant

This document discusses Avogadro's constant and the mole concept. It provides an introduction to Avogadro's constant, explaining that it allows chemists to relate the subatomic world to macroscopic units and amounts. The key points are: 1) Avogadro's number is defined as 6.022x1023, the number of elementary entities (atoms, molecules, ions) in one mole of a substance. 2) One mole is defined as the amount of a substance with the same number of elementary entities as atoms in 12 grams of carbon-12. 3) Using moles and Avogadro's number allows chemists to balance chemical reactions since elements have different atomic

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Ali Raza
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42 views

Activity 1.3: Activity: Familiarizing With Avogadro's Constant

This document discusses Avogadro's constant and the mole concept. It provides an introduction to Avogadro's constant, explaining that it allows chemists to relate the subatomic world to macroscopic units and amounts. The key points are: 1) Avogadro's number is defined as 6.022x1023, the number of elementary entities (atoms, molecules, ions) in one mole of a substance. 2) One mole is defined as the amount of a substance with the same number of elementary entities as atoms in 12 grams of carbon-12. 3) Using moles and Avogadro's number allows chemists to balance chemical reactions since elements have different atomic

Uploaded by

Ali Raza
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Activity 1.

DAY 5
The Avogadro constant

Activity: familiarizing with Avogadro’s constant

Introduction
In this activity a brief introduction to Avogadro constant, its significance and importance is
described. To help the idea to get absorbed solved examples are also provided at the end of the
activity.

Description

It is basically a number introduces by chemist to get around the problem that every element has
slightly different mass, or density. The mole (Avogadro number of particles) is important because
it allows chemists to work with the subatomic world with macro world units and amounts.
Interesting Fact: The number does not discover by Avogadro’s himself. It was named after him in
recognition of his contributions to chemistry.

Avogadro’s Number is the number of atoms, molecules, or any other objects that makes up one
mole of a that substance.

NA = 6.022 x 1023 or 602,200,000,000,000,000,000,000

For example:

6.022 x 1023 atoms of Hydrogen atoms represent one mole of Hydrogen.

6.022 x 1023 water molecules represent one mole of Water.


What is a Mole?

The mole (abbreviated mol) is the SI measure of quantity of a “chemical entity,” such as
atoms, electrons, or protons. It is defined as the amount of a substance that contains as many
particles as there are atoms in 12 grams of pure carbon-12. So, 1 mol contains
6.022×1023 elementary entities of the substance.
And other SI units of measurement include kilograms, meters, and seconds. It is a very handy way
for chemists to work with huge numbers of atoms or molecules.

AMUs, Grams, and Moles

The value of Avogadro's number is chosen arbitrarily, based on the definition of the atomic
mass unit, amu or u. By definition, a single carbon-12 atom weight 12 amu exactly. Therefore,
one amu is one-twelfth the mass of a single carbon-12 atom.

Now, the question arises, how many carbon-12 atoms would weigh exactly 12 grams? From
experiment, the actual mass of a single carbon-12 atom in grams has been determined. For
example, using the method of mass spectrometry, the mass of a single carbon-12 atom has been
measured to be about 1.993 X 10–23 g. From this we can calculate the number of carbon-12 atoms
in 12 grams of carbon-12:

12 g 1 carbon − 12 atom
𝑋 = 6.022 𝑋 1023 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑏𝑜𝑛 12 𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑠
1 1.993 𝑋 10−23 𝑔

So, we can conclude that, 12 grams of carbon-12 contain one mole, or Avogadro's number of,
carbon-12 atoms.

We can also relate the two mass scales, grams and amu, as follows:

6.022 𝑋 1023 𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐶12 12 𝑎𝑚𝑢 𝑎𝑚𝑢


𝑋 = 6.022 𝑋 10 23
12 𝑔 1 𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑚 𝑜𝑓 𝐶12 𝑔
Which shows that 1𝑔 = 6.022 𝑋 1023 𝑎𝑚𝑢

Why is that a problem?

Using Moles and Avogadro’s Number

Take this reaction as an example,

𝐻𝐶𝑙 + 𝑁𝑎𝑂𝐻 → 𝑁𝑎𝐶𝑙 + 𝐻2 𝑂

As the reaction looks even on both sides, one might assume that you can add equal amount of
hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide to get sodium chloride and water as a product and get all
the reactants consumed in the reaction.

But the elements that make those molecules up have different densities, or as scientists say their
‘atomic mass’ is different.

For example: you cannot add one cup of sodium hydroxide and one of hydrochloric acid to get a
complete reaction. This is because if you measure out the same volume of these chemicals,
you will have more molecules of the dense one and there will not be an exact number to
react, and your result will not be what you expect.

That is where Avogadro’s number comes in. It is a useful way to standardize the way we predict
and carry out chemical reactions, in the same way that working in teaspoons, grams or milliliters
allows us to mix a perfect sponge cake. Once chemists have worked out how much a mole of a
chemical weighs, they can always ensure that they have approximately the right number of
molecules to make a reaction work fully.

Important Formulas
𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑠
𝑀𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑠 =
𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠
And by rearranging we get,

𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑠
𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑠 =
𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠

These are among the most important formulas in chemistry.

Test Your Self

1. Avogadro's number NA is

a. 6.23 × 10 –2
b. 6.02 × 10 23
c. 6.23 × 10 2
Ans) b.

2. One mole of CO2 gas contains.

a. One mole of oxygen.


b. 1g of Carbon.
c. 18.10 x 1023 molecules of CO2
d. 12.04 x 1023 atoms of Oxygen.
Ans) d.

Explanation: one mole of anything contains 6.02 × 10 23 particles. So, one mole of CO2
contains one mole of C, and 2 moles of O. which is 6.02 × 10 23 carbon atoms and 2 x (6.02
× 10 23) = 12.04 x 1023 atoms of oxygen.

3. Which of the following statements about the Avogadro Constant is not correct?
a. It may be taken as the number of atoms in 0.012 kg of carbon-12.
b. Its value was determined experimentally to be about 6.02 x 1023.
c. It is the number of particles in one mole of any substance.
d. It is only applicable to monoatomic particles.
Ans) d.

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