Why do we convert grams to moles

Mass Relationships and Chemical Equations. Search for:. Mass-to-Mole Conversions. Key Points The mole is the universal measurement of quantity in chemistry. Although it is not possible to directly measure how many moles a substance contains, it is possible to first measure its mass and then convert that amount to moles. How many complete hamburgers could you make?

Hopefully you recognize that you would first need to know the mass of an individual burger patty and bun in order to answer that question. In chemistry, we base our conversions on the balanced chemical equation, but it is solely based on number.

One mole of substance A reacts with two moles of substance B to produce one mole of product C and one mole of product D, for example. However, the mole is just a number, albeit a really big one. Big, because atoms and molecules are way too small to count, so we mass large numbers of them instead, and use molar mass to convert to the NUMBER of moles of them.

This number is then used in a ratio conversion based on the mole ratios in the balanced chemical equation. Klaus-Dieter Warzecha Add a comment. Active Oldest Votes. Improve this answer. Bluethousandand2 Bluethousandand2 21 1 1 bronze badge. Yulmart Yulmart 2 2 silver badges 11 11 bronze badges.

Scient Scient 1 1 silver badge 7 7 bronze badges. Overall mass is conserved in chemical reactions. In fact moles are not conserved.

MaxW MaxW Stefanos Spyrou Stefanos Spyrou 1. Featured on Meta. Now live: A fully responsive profile. Linked Related 5. The formula mass of CO 2 is:. Thus, one mole of CO 2 weighs This relation provides a conversion factor to go from grams to moles. There are On the other hand, sometimes you're given a value in moles and need to convert it to grams.

To do this, first calculate the molar mass of a sample. Then, multiply it by the number of moles to get an answer in grams:. For example, find the number of grams in 0. Calculate the molar mass by multiplying the number of atoms of each element in the compound its subscript times the atomic mass of the element from the periodic table.

Multiply the molar mass by the number of moles to get the grams:. Here are some tips for performing these conversions:. Sometimes you are given moles and need to convert it into grams. This worked example problem shows you how to convert moles to grams. Determine the mass in grams of 3. First, look up the atomic masses for hydrogen, sulfur, and oxygen from the periodic table. The atomic mass is 1. The formula mass of H 2 SO 4 is:.