SK 015 | CHAPTER 1.

0 MATTER

TUTORIAL 1.0
MATTER
At the end of this chapter, students should be able to:
1.1 Atoms and a) Write isotopic notation
molecules b) Interpret mass spectrum
c) Calculate the average atomic mass of an element given the relative
abundances of isotopes or a mass spectrum.

1.2 Mole concept a) Define the terms empirical and molecular formulae.
b) Determine empirical and molecular formulae from mass composition or
combustion data.
c) Determine the empirical formula (formula unit) from experiment.
(Experiment 1: Determination of formula unit of a compound)
d) Define each of the following concentration measurements:
i. molarity (M);
ii. molality (m);
iii. mole fraction (X);
iv. percentage by mass (% w/w); and
v. percentage by volume (%v/v)
e) Calculate each of the following concentration measurements:
i. molarity (M);
ii. molality (m);
iii. mole fraction (X);
iv. percentage by mass (% w/w) and
v. percentage by volume (%v/v)

1.3 Stoichiometry a) Write a balanced chemical equation:

i. by inspection method; and
ii. by ion-electron method (redox equation)
b) Define
i. limiting reactant; and
ii. percentage yield
c) Perform stoichiometric calculations using mole concept including limiting
reactant and percentage yield.
(Experiment 2: Acid – Base Titration – Determination of the Concentration
of Hydrochloric Acid)
(Experiment 3: Determination of Molar Mass of a Metal)

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 SK 015 | CHAPTER 1.0 MATTER
HOUR 1

1. Mercury atom has 80 protons and 121 neutrons. Write the isotopic notation for mercury.
MID SEM 2012 / 2013 (CLO1, C1)

2. Complete the following table. (CLO1, C1)

No of subatomic particles Nucleon Isotopic
Element
p e n number notation
Silicon 14 28
Chlorine 35
17 Cl
Bromine 35 36 44
Magnesium 12 10 24

3. An ion Y3+ has 18 electrons and 24 neutrons.

a) Determine the proton number and nucleon number of the element Y.
b) Write the isotopic notation to represent the element. MID SEM 2015 / 2016 (CLO1, C1)

4. The mass spectrum of copper is shown in FIGURE 1. (CLO3, C4)

69.0
Relative intensity

31.0

Mass/charge
63.0 65.0
FIGURE 1
Based on FIGURE 1,
a) Write all the isotopes of copper.
b) Determine the percentage abundance of each isotope.
c) Calculate the relative atomic mass of copper. (63.62)

5. FIGURE 2 shows the mass spectrum of element X :

2.8
Relative abundance

1.5
0.89

m/e
50 52 56
FIGURE 2
52
a) State the number of protons and neutrons in isotope 27 X
b) Calculate the relative atomic mass of X. (52.11) MID SEM 2011 / 2012 (CLO3, C4)

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 SK 015 | CHAPTER 1.0 MATTER
6. Element J has 10 protons. FIGURE 3 shows the mass spectrum of J.
90.48
% abundance

9.25
0.27

m/e
20 21 22
FIGURE 3

a) Write the isotopic notation of J with the highest percentage abundance.

b) Calculate the average atomic mass of J, if the isotopic masses are 19.9924 amu, 20.9938
amu and 21.9914 amu. (20.18 amu)
MID SEM DK015 2014 / 2015 (CLO3, C4)

HOUR 2

7. Given the following table:

Isotope Mass (amu) Percentage

abundance
107Ag 106.91 51.50
109Ag 108.90 48.50

Calculate the average atomic mass of silver. (107.88 amu)

MID SEM 2014 /2015 (CLO3, C4)

8. Iron consists of 5.82% 54Fe, 91.66% 56Fe, 2.19% 57Fe and 0.33% 58Fe. The isotopic masses of these
four isotopes are 53.9396 u, 55.9394 u, 56.9354 u and 57.9333 u respectively. Calculate the relative
atomic mass of iron. (CLO3, C4)
(55.85)

9. The two naturally occurring isotopes of gallium are gallium-69 and gallium-71 which are found in the
ratio of 3:2. Determine the atomic mass of gallium. MID SEM 2008 /2009 (CLO3, C4)
(69.8 amu)

10. The isotopes of Ag occur naturally as 107Ag and 109Ag with their isotopic masses of 106.91 a.m.u and
108.87 a.m.u respectively. If the average atomic mass of Ag is 107.9 a.m.u, what would be the
percentage abundance of these two isotopes? (CLO3, C4)
(abundance of 107Ag =49.49%; abundance of 109Ag =50.51%)

11. Magnesium is an element with a proton number of 12. In a sample of magnesium, it was found that
magnesium atoms have three different nucleon numbers of 24, 25 and 26.
a) Write the symbol for one of these three atoms, showing its proton number and nucleon
number.

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 SK 015 | CHAPTER 1.0 MATTER
b) A sample of magnesium contains 78.6% of atoms with a nucleon number of 24, 10.1% of
atoms with a nucleon number of 25 and 11.3% of atoms with a nucleon number of 26.
Calculate the relative atomic mass of magnesium. (24.33)
c) Sketch and label the expected mass spectrum of the magnesium.
PSPM 2013 / 2014 (CLO3, C4)

HOUR 3

12. Analysis of a gaseous hydrocarbon compound gives the following percent composition by mass:
85.7% C and 14.3% H.
a) Define empirical formula and molecular formula.
b) Determine the empirical formula of the hydrocarbon.
c) 0.25 g of this compound occupies a volume of 100 mL at STP. Determine the molar mass
and the molecular formula of the hydrocarbon (CLO3, C3)
(56.00 g mol−1)

13. Oxalic acid is often used to remove blood and rust stains. It contains 2.27% hydrogen, 26.65% carbon
and 71.08% oxygen by mass. The molar mass of oxalic acid is 90.0 g mol–1.
a) Determine the empirical formula of oxalic acid.
b) What is its molecular formula? PSPM JAN 1999 (CLO3, C3)

14. A complete combustion of a hydrocarbon forms 1.10 g of CO2 and 0.45 g of H2O. The molar mass is
84.00 g mol–1. Determine the empirical formula and molecular formula of the hydrocarbon.
(CLO3, C3)

15. A compound P, with the relative molecular mass of 46, contains the elements carbon, hydrogen and
oxygen. When 2.30 g sample of P is completely burnt in excess oxygen, 4.40 g carbon dioxide and
2.70 g water were produced.
a) Calculate the mass of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen in 2.30 g of P.
b) Determine the empirical formula and molecular formula of P.
c) Write a balanced equation for the combustion. PSPM JAN 2000 (CLO3, C3)
(1.2 g C, 0.3 g H, 0.8 g O)
HOUR 4

16. Define the terms: (CLO1, C1)

a) molarity
b) molality
c) percentage by mass.

17. An aqueous solution contains 167 g CuSO4 in 820 mL of solution. The density of the solution is
1.195 g mL-1. Calculate the following:
a) molarity of the solution (1.28M)
b) percentage by mass of CuSO4 (17.04 %)
c) mole fraction of each component (0.0226, 0.9774)
d) molality of the solution (1.29 molal)
(CLO3, C4)

18. A certain amount of NaOH is dissolved in 98.0 g of water at 25 °C. The final volume of NaOH solution
is 100 mL. Given the density of the solution is 1.33 g mL-1 at 25 °C, calculate the number of moles
of NaOH used. (0.875 mol) MID SEM 2010 / 2011 (CLO3, C4)

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