5 Steps to Calculate Molar Mass of Aluminum

Updated: 08 Jun 2023

5 Steps to Calculate Molar Mass of Aluminum

Chemistry can be a challenging subject to learn as you have to retain all the different terms, ideas, and theories. Even our chemistry experts reiterate the same. Fortunately, one of our organization's policies is to see students excel in their studies. Due to this, we, homemarket, take the liberty to help you all learn chemistry and all the other subjects.

One major complex topic in chemistry is molar mass. This article will touch on this topic; mainly steps you can use to calculate the molar mass of aluminum. Before we mention the steps, we will offer a background of aluminum and molar mass. By the time we reach the ‘steps’ section, you will have the basics of molar mass on your fingertips, which will put you in a better position to follow the steps.

So, put on your learning hat, and let’s tackle this horrifying chemistry topic once and for all.

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What Is Aluminum?

Aluminum, also written as aluminum, is the most abundant metal in the crust of the Earth and the most utilized nonferrous metal. Its high reactivity makes it never occur in its metallic form, though its compounds are found practically in all surroundings, such as rocks, animals, and vegetation.

Table 1: Aluminum details
Aluminum details
Period – 3	State at room temperature - solid
Group – 13	Melting point - 660^oC
Atomic number – 13	Boiling point – 2,519^oC
Atomic mass - 26.98	Density – 2.7 g/cm^-3

What are the uses of aluminum?

Aluminum is used in myriads of products, such as kitchen utensils, foils, cans, beer kegs, window frames, and airplane parts. Its unique excellent qualities make it a good candidate for these products and others. Its qualities include being non-toxic, low density, excellent corrosion resistance, high thermal conductivity, and easily formed or cast.

Most of the time, aluminum is utilized as an alloy because it is not strong enough. You readily find aluminum alloys with elements like silicon, magnesium, manganese, and copper.

What Is The Difference Between An Atom, Molecule, And Compound?

To calculate molar mass, you need to understand what an atom, molecule, and compound are. So, this section will look at these three terms.

Atom. An atom is the smallest or simplest unit of matter that cannot be split into anything simpler/smaller and is involved in a chemical reaction. However, atoms have sub-atomic particles within them, like protons, electrons, or neutrons. Atoms combine to form molecules and compounds. Examples of atoms are H, O, and Cl (Hydrogen, oxygen, and chlorine).

Molecule. A molecule is a particle that has two or more atoms joined together by covalent bonds. Non-metallic compounds form this type of bond. Examples of molecules we have are H₂, O₃, and Cl₂(hydrogen molecule, ozone, and dichloride, respectively)_.

H₂is a molecule with two hydrogen atoms.
Ozone is a molecule with three oxygen atoms
Dichloride is a molecule with two chlorine atoms

Compound. A compound is a particle made up of two or more atoms attached together by ionic bonds. Ionic bonds form when positively and negatively charged atoms bond. Ionic bonds are stronger than covalent bonds, so compounds are harder (or impossible) to separate by physical means than molecules.

Metallic elements become positively charged (+) when involved in a chemical reaction, while non-metallic become negatively charged (-). In short, metallic ions are positively charged, while non-metallic ions are negatively charged.

What Is The Connection Between Atomic Mass, Molecular Weight, And Molar Mass?

Now that you understand what an atom, molecule, and compound are, let’s look at the other three terms you will definitely come across when doing your molar mass calculations. The terms are

Atomic mass
Molecular weight
Molar mass.

What is atomic mass?

Atomic mass is the mass of one mole of an atom. This is one of the simplest definitions you can get for molar mass. The internet and books have other definitions, though the meaning is the same. Today let’s use this one of ours for easy comprehension.

You can know the atomic mass of any element by simply using the periodic table. When you look at the periodic table, there are two numbers for each element; one number is the “atomic number,” and the other number is “atomic mass.” The smaller number is the “atomic number,” and the bigger one is the ‘atomic number.’ Let’s look at the image below to understand the difference better. The image is a snipped section of a periodic table; we will focus on three elements; C, B, and N.

The atomic number of the elements is:

C is 5
B is 6
N is 7.

The atomic mass of the elements is:

C is 12.01
B is 10.81
N is 14.01.

In other words, to know the atomic mass of an element, you just pick your periodic table and look at the bigger number.

What is molecular weight?

Molecular weight is the mass of a molecule calculated by adding the atomic mass of each element.

For instance, a water molecule has a molecular weight of 18.02. How did we get 18.02? We simply added the atomic mass of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen.

The chemical formula of water is H₂O. It means that there are two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom.

The atomic mass of hydrogen is 1.01, while oxygen is 16.00 (look at the periodic table).

So, if you add the atomic mass of two hydrogens and one oxygen, you will get the above answer, which is the molecular weight of water.

Molecular weight of H₂O = H + H + O

= 1.01 + 1.01 + 16.00

= 18.02

What is molar mass?

Molar mass is the mass of one mole of an atom, molecule, compound, or any other particle. From this definition, we can see that atomic mass and molecular weight are still considered molar mass. How is this so? Continue reading to find out.

1. Molar Mass and Atomic mass

The molar mass and atomic mass are related when talking about an atom. If you have been told to find the molar mass of an atom, you will simply state the atomic mass of that element. In short, an atom's molar mass and atomic masses are one and the same.

For instance, as seen above, the atomic mass of H is 1.01 and of O is 16.00. The molar mass for both elements will still be 1.01 and 16.00, correspondingly.

2. Molar Mass and Molecular Weight

The value of molar mass and molecular weight are similar when discussing any molecule. From the above, we saw that the molecular weight of water is 18.02. The molar mass of water (H₂O) is still 18.02.

3. Molar mass and compounds

To calculate the molar mass of compounds, you will use similar steps to those of calculating molecular weight; you add the atomic mass of every element in the compound. Below are the detailed steps you can use to know the molar mass of aluminum compounds.

5 Steps That You Can Use To Calculate The Molar Mass Of Aluminum.

Use the following steps to calculate the molar mass of aluminum matter. We will use two examples of aluminum compounds to help you understand the steps better. Examples are aluminum nitride (AlN) and aluminum sulfide (Al₂S₃). We won’t teach you how to calculate the molar mass of aluminum metal (which is an aluminum atom) because you can directly read it from the periodic table. (Hope you remember how. We have mentioned it above. Hint: molar mass and atomic mass of an atom are similar)

Step 1: Identify the aluminum material

The first step is to know the aluminum material under study. Is it aluminum nitride (AlN), aluminum sulfide, or another aluminum compound?

Step 2: write down the chemical formula.

After identifying the material, write down its chemical formula. The chemical symbol of aluminum nitride is AlN, whereas that of aluminum sulfide is Al₂S_3.

Step 3: List all the elements

The third step is to list the elements in the compound. Let’s use our two examples: AlN and Al₂S_3.

The elements in AlN are Al (aluminum) and N (nitrogen).

The elements in Al₂S₃ are Al (aluminum) and S (Sulphur).

Step 4: Note the atomic mass of each element.

Once you know the elements in the compound, you then find their atomic mass using the periodic table.

In our examples, we want to know the atomic mass of Al, N, and S.

The atomic mass of Al is 26.98

The atomic mass of N is 14.01

The atomic mass of S is 32.06.

Step 5: Add the atomic mass of all the elements.

The last step is to add the atomic mass of all the elements of the compound. You should be keen about the subscripts. The subscripts indicate the number of atoms in a compound (or molecule). For instance, you can see the subscripts in Al₂S_3.The subscripts are numbers 2’ and ‘3.’ This indicates that there are two aluminum atoms and three sulfur atoms.

So, when you are determining the molar mass of compounds (or molecules) with a subscript, multiply the atomic mass of elements with the element’s subscript. For instance:

The molar mass of Al₂S₃₌(atomic mass of 2 Al atoms) + (atomic mass of 3 S atoms).

It is the same as saying:

= 2(atomic mass of Al atom) + 3(atomic mass of S atom)

= 2 (26.98) + 3(32.06)

= 150.14 g/cm^-3

Calculating the molar mass of AlN is simple as there are no subscripts: there is only one atom for both elements.

The molar mass of AlN = atomic mass of one Al atom + atomic mass of one N atom\

= 26.98 + 14.01

= 40.99.

Why Do You Need To Calculate Molar Mass?

Although calculating molar mass is problematic, it is an important procedure. It helps set up an experiment, mainly where you must use specific quantities of a substance and analyze the results.

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5 Steps to Calculate Molar Mass of Aluminum - Homeworkmarket

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