Input interpretation
butane | molar mass
Result
Find the molar mass, M, for butane: M = sum _iN_im_i Plan: • Write the chemical formula and gather atomic masses from the periodic table. • Determine values for N_i and m_i using these items. • Finally, compute the mass. Write the chemical formula: CH_3CH_2CH_2CH_3 Use the chemical formula to count the number of atoms, N_i, for each element: | N_i C (carbon) | 4 H (hydrogen) | 10 Look up the atomic mass, m_i, in g·mol^(-1) for each element in the periodic table: | N_i | m_i/g·mol^(-1) C (carbon) | 4 | 12.011 H (hydrogen) | 10 | 1.008 Multiply N_i by m_i to compute the mass for each element. Then sum those values to compute the molar mass, M: Answer: | | | N_i | m_i/g·mol^(-1) | mass/g·mol^(-1) C (carbon) | 4 | 12.011 | 4 × 12.011 = 48.044 H (hydrogen) | 10 | 1.008 | 10 × 1.008 = 10.080 M = 48.044 g/mol + 10.080 g/mol = 58.124 g/mol
Unit conversion
0.05812 kg/mol (kilograms per mole)
Comparisons
≈ ( 0.081 ≈ 1/12 ) × molar mass of fullerene ( ≈ 721 g/mol )
≈ 0.3 × molar mass of caffeine ( ≈ 194 g/mol )
≈ 0.995 × molar mass of sodium chloride ( 58.443 g/mol )
Corresponding quantities
Mass of a molecule m from m = M/N_A: | 9.7×10^-23 grams | 9.7×10^-26 kg (kilograms) | 58 u (unified atomic mass units) | 58 Da (daltons)
Relative molecular mass M_r from M_r = M_u/M: | 58