SOLIDS: Determining the Mass of a Golden Sphere

Q: Gold has an atomic mass of 197 amu. If a golden sphere has a diameter of 0.10 m, how many atoms does it contain? A: In order to determine what volume ( V ) is occupied by the sphere, we must obtain a value for the sphere’s radius ( r ). Fortunately, the radiusContinue reading “SOLIDS: Determining the Mass of a Golden Sphere”

SOLIDS: The mole and Avogadro’s Number

Imagine a world where dollars can be seen with the naked eye, but pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters are invisible. In this world, you are assigned the task of giving a presentation where, somehow or another, dollars replace pennies as the smallest unit of currency. The relationships between the aforementioned currencies will take on theContinue reading “SOLIDS: The mole and Avogadro’s Number”

CHEMISTRY: A Review of Molarity ( M ), Balanced Chemical Reactions, Limiting Reagents, and Quantitative Analysis

Balanced chemical reactions ( RXN ) represent reactions in which perfect ratios of reactants and products react. Let’s consider a photosynthetic RXN where glucose reacts with molecular oxygen to form carbon dioxide, water, and energy: C6H12O6 + 6O2 → 6CO2 + 6H2O + energy In the subatomic world, a single molecule of glucose reacts withContinue reading “CHEMISTRY: A Review of Molarity ( M ), Balanced Chemical Reactions, Limiting Reagents, and Quantitative Analysis”

CHEMISTRY: What Quantity Does a Mole Describe?

CHEMISTRY 101:  WHAT IS A ” MOLE “? HOW DOES THE QUANTITY DESCRIBED AS BEING A ” MOLAR ” QUANTITY CONNECT THE INVISIBLE SUBATOMIC WORLD TO THE VISIBLE WORLD? A balanced chemical equation is representative of a chemical reaction ( RXN ).  For example, water is known to be made of two hydrogen ions +Continue reading “CHEMISTRY: What Quantity Does a Mole Describe?”