F321 Writing Equations

Writing Formulae and Equations

Candidates should be able to: (c) explain the terms: (i) empirical formula as the simplest whole number ratio of atoms of each element present in a compound, (ii) molecular formula as the actual number of atoms of each element in a molecule; (d) calculate empirical and molecular formulae, using composition by mass and percentage compositions; (e) construct balanced chemical equations for reactions studied and for unfamiliar reactions given reactants and products;

Formulae a universal shorthand language for chemists In chemical equations we need a formula for: - any compound - some diatomic elements e.g. H F Br O N I Cl have formulae H2, F2, Br2, O2 etc. Otherwise we can just use the element symbol (e.g. for metals, noble gases, and often for carbon, sulphur, phosphorus) Valency We use the idea of valency to help figure out the formulae of substances. Definition: Valency is the number of electrons an atom involves in bonding. In simple terms, the valency can be thought of as the number of bonds an atom (or group of atoms) forms. It doesnt matter whether the electrons are given, received or shared just the number involved, e.g. Na loses 1 outer shell electron to form ionic bonds so its valency is 1. O gains 2 electrons whether bonding covalently or forming oxide ions, so its valency is 2. Carbon shares 4 electrons in covalent bonding, so it valency is 4. Ions The valency of the atom tells you the value of the charge on the ion, whether it has lost or gained electrons tells you whether the charge is positive or negative (respectively). e.g. oxygen atom [valency 2] gains 2 electrons to make oxide ion O2chlorine atom [valency 1] gains 1 electron to make chloride ion Clsodium atom [valency 1] loses 1 electron to make sodium ion Na+

Ion Naming Recall that ide endings refer to atoms forming negative ions e.g. nitride N3-, sulphide S2whereas -ate endings refer to atoms grouped with oxygen forming negative compound ions e.g. nitrate NO3-, sulphate SO42- (see below).

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F321 Writing Equations Compound ions Valency can also be associated with compound ions (containing more than one atom), e.g. nitrate ions (NO3-) have a valency of 1, sulphate ions (SO42-) have a valency of 2 etc. These just have to be learnt ! Variable valency Some elements, for example the transition metals, have variable valency. Their valency in a particular compound is indicated by a Roman Numeral in the name e.g. iron(III) chloride, valency of Fe is 3 iron(II) sulphate valency of Fe is 2

Using valency to write formulae Write the valency for each atom or ion, then swap and simplify the numbers if they will divide down. (The absence of a number implies 1 of that atom) e.g. calcium chloride hydrogen sulphide aluminium oxide calcium oxide silicon dioxide Ca = 2 Cl = 1 so CaCl2 H = 1 S = 2 so H2S Al = 3 O = 2 so Al2O3 Ca = 2 O = 2 so Ca2O2 simplifies to CaO Si = 4 O = 2 so Si2O4 simplifies to SiO2

Same rules apply to compound ions. Keep them in brackets if there is more than one of the ion: e.g. sodium sulphate magnesium nitrate aluminium hydroxide ammonium sulphate Na = 1 sulphate = 2 so Na2SO4 Mg = 2 nitrate = 1 so Mg(NO3)2 Al = 3 hydroxide =1 so Al(OH)3 NH4+ = 1 sulphate = 2 so (NH4)2SO4

Note: Al(OH)3 is NOT the same as AlOH3 which would imply 1 Al, 1 O and 3 H bonded together, not 3 x hydroxide ! Check your understanding: Use valency to work out the formulae of the three most common lab acids; i) hydrochloric acid, ii) sulphuric acid iii) nitric acid. These are compounds of hydrogen, with chloride, sulphate and nitrate respectively. Check your understanding: Work out the formulae of the following using their valencies iv) aluminium bromide ix) barium carbonate v) lithium sulphate x) calcium hydrogencarbonate vi) potassium oxide xi) iron II hydroxide and iron III hydroxide vii) copper II oxide xii) ammonium carbonate viii) magnesium iodide xiii) aluminium sulphide

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F321 Writing Equations Balancing Equations At A-level we dont use word equations any more. We use symbol equations, and always ensure they are balanced. We also include state symbols as a matter of course where we know them: (s) solid (l) liquid (g) gas (aq) aqueous Water is always (l) we cant have a solution of water in water ! Balancing equations is essential because we never create or destroy atoms, only rearrange the bonding during the course of a reaction to form new substances, so we have to have exactly the same number of each atom on each side of the equation. Steps: Write the formula of each substance, with the + signs and or Add the state symbols NOW add numbers IN FRONT of formulae to get the atom balance NEVER change the formulae ! Check your understanding: Balance the following equations and add state symbols: xiv) HCl + Na2CO3 NaCl + H2O + CO2 xv) HNO3 + Mg Mg(NO3)2 + H2

Write balanced equations for the following reactions (including state symbols) xvi) Solutions of sodium sulphate and barium nitrate react to form a barium sulphate precipitate and a sodium sulphate solution xvii) xviii) Zinc carbonate thermally decomposes when heated to produce zinc oxide and carbon dioxide ammonium dichromate, (NH4)2Cr2O7(s), decomposes when heated to produce nitrogen, steam and solid chromium III oxide

Hydrated and anhydrous crystals Many crystals of ionic substances also contain water as part of the crystal structure. For example, green iron(II) sulphate crystals contain 7 water molecules for each iron sulphate. We call this water of crystallization, denoting it in the formula as shown: FeSO4.7H2O It is important that we take this into account when weighing or calculating the relative formula mass for any hydrated substance. We need to add the mass of the water into Mr ! Look at the bottles when you are weighing out salts, and check the formula and Mr given on the bottle !

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F321 Writing Equations Empirical and Molecular formulae The molecular formula tells us the actual numbers of atoms of each element present in a molecule, e.g. C6H12O6 tells us exactly which atoms are in a glucose molecule. Not every substance is comprised of simple molecules like this, though (e.g. giant ionic structures). For any compound we can always write down ratios of different atoms present. Definition: the empirical formula is the simplest whole-number ratio of atoms of each element present in a compound e.g. for glucose the empirical formula is CH2O The empirical formula MAY be the same as the molecular formula, or may not. Analysis data Following elemental analysis of an unknown sample, the results would be a list of which elements are present and what mass of each is present, or what % of the total mass is made up from each element present. From this data we can find the empirical formula: Example: elemental analysis of CO2 e.g. "44g of a gas is analysed and found to contain 18g of carbon and 48g of oxygen. Calculate the empirical formula." C O Mass (g) 18 48 Ar 12 16 Moles 1.5 3.0 Ratio 1 2 Empirical CO2 Sometimes we get fractions in the ratio to deal with: e.g. A 14.2g sample containing P and O is found to contain 6.2g of P. P O Mass (g) 6.2 14.2 6.2 = 8.0 Ar 31.0 16.0 Moles 0.2 0.5 Ratio 1 2.5 x 2 to clear fractions 2 5 Empirical P2O5 Check your understanding: xiv) 8.00g of Na is burnt in excess oxygen to produce 10.78g of a yellow solid. Find its empirical formula. xv) 10.00g of an oxide of lead, when reduced, produced 9.07g of lead. What was the empirical formula of the oxide ?

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F321 Writing Equations Working out molecular formulae The information we would need in addition to the empirical formula is the relative molecular mass, Mr. We can work out the "empirical formula mass" (EFM) and use it to work out how to scale up the empirical formula. Calculate it by adding up the RAMs in the empirical formula. Calculate (Mr / EFM) and then multiply all the numbers of atoms in the empirical formula by this amount. e.g. A hydrocarbon is found to have empirical formula CH and Mr = 78. What is its molecular formula ? Mr Empirical formula mass = 12.0 + 1.0 Mr/EFM Molecular formula = 6 x CH 78 13.0 6 C6H6

Check your understanding: xvi) An alkene has empirical formula CH2 and Mr = 42 What's its molecular formula ? xvii) A salt of silver comprises silver, carbon and oxygen only. It contains 7.89% C and 21.06% O by mass and has Mr = 304. What's its molecular formula ?

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F321 Writing Equations

Answers to "Check your understanding" questions:

Working out formula using valency i) hydrochloric acid HCl ii) sulphuric acid H2SO4 iii) nitric acid HNO3 Working out the formulae using valencies iv) aluminium bromide AlBr3 v) lithium sulphate Li2SO4 vi) potassium oxide K2O vii) copper II oxide CuO viii) magnesium iodide MgI2 ix) barium carbonate BaCO3 x) calcium hydrogencarbonate Ca(HCO3)2 xi) iron II hydroxide Fe(OH)2, iron III hydroxide Fe(OH)3 xii) ammonium carbonate (NH4)2CO3 xiii) aluminium sulphide Al2S3 Balancing equations xiv) 2HCl(aq) + Na2CO3(s) 2NaCl(aq) + H2O(l) + CO2(g) xv) 2HNO3(aq) + Mg(s) Mg(NO3)2(aq) + H2(g) Working out formulae then balancing equations xvi) Na2SO4(aq) + Ba(NO3)2(aq) 2NaNO3(aq) + BaSO4(s) xvii) ZnCO3(s) ZnO(s) + CO2(g) xviii) (NH4)2Cr2O7(s) N2(g) + 4H2O(g) + Cr2O3(s) Empirical formula calculations 8.00g of Na is burnt in excess oxygen to produce 10.78g of a yellow solid. xiv) Find the empirical formula: Na O Mass (g) 8.00 10.78 8.00 = 2.78 RAM 23.0 16.0 Moles 0.3478 0.l7375 ** watch rounding ! Ratio 2 : 1 Empirical Na2O 10.00g of an oxide of lead, when reduced, produced 9.07g of lead. xv) What was the empirical formula of the oxide ? Pb O Mass(g) 9.07 10.00 9.07 = 0.93 RAM 207.2 16 Moles 0.04377 0.058125 Ratio 1.0 1.33 Recognise 1/3 so x all by 3 Ratio 3 4 Empirical Pb3O4 Page 6

F321 Writing Equations Molecular formulae from composition data and Mr xvi) An alkene has empirical formula CH2 and Mr = 42 What's its molecular formula ? Mr 42 EFM = 12 + 2 14 Mr/EFM 3 Molecular formula = 3 x CH2 = C3H6 xvii) A salt of silver comprises silver, carbon and oxygen only. It contains 7.89% C and 21.06% O by mass and has Mr = 304. What's its molecular formula ? Ag C O % 71.05 (calc) 7.89 21.06 RAM 107.9 12.0 16.0 Moles 0.6585 0.6575 1.316 Ratio 1 1 2 AgCO2 empirical Mr Empirical formula mass Mr/EFM Molecular formula: 304 151.9 2.00 2 x AgCO2 (107.9 + 12 + 16 + 16) Molecular formula: Ag2C2O4

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