mass
'no magic to the mole'
amount
molar mass
concentration
solution volume
gas volume
molar gas volume
Avogadro
constant, L
number of
entities, N
Now try the following question.
CALCULATING ON THE SIDE OF SUCCESS – Module G(2023): CHEMICAL ENTITIES & AVOGADRO'S CONSTANT: N = n L
G. CHEMICAL ENTITIES & THE AVOGADRO CONSTANT
G1. ESTABLISHING THE CHEMICAL ENTITIES INVOLVED
When dealing with chemical amounts, it is important one is clear as to what chemical entities
- aka elementary particles - a given calculation relates. A statement such as one mole of chlorine
does not alone signify whether atoms or molecules are the entity in question.
Not infrequently, the entity or elementary particle will be implied by a question but ambiguity should
be avoided by reference to a chemical formula. The following situations serve either to illustrate implications for the molar mass value that might be required for a particular calculation, or else for the ionic dissociation of a substance as it is melted or dissolved in water.
The listings above are certainly not exhaustive but they do demonstrate that calculations involving chemical amounts may require such elementary knowledge of chemical bonding as enables the chemical entities of interest to be identified. It goes without saying that a lack of fluency when recognizing, writing or manipulating chemical formulae is, at best, a very significant impediment.
