Question

Calculate the molar mass of $C{H_4}$.

Answer 1

Hint- In order to find the molar mass first we will understand the process to calculate the molar mass of any compound then we will proceed for the given compound according to this process. We will use the atomic mass of the constituent elements from the periodic table to find the molar mass of the given substance.

Complete answer:
Given compound is $C{H_4}$
First we will follow the following steps to calculate molecular mass.
1. Determine the molecular formula of the molecule.
2. Use the periodic table to determine the atomic mass of each element in the molecule.
3. Multiply each element's atomic mass by the number of atoms of that element in the molecule. This number is represented by the subscript next to the element symbol in the molecular formula.
4. Add these values together for each different atom in the molecule.

The total will be the molecular mass of the compound.
Now, we will find the molecular mass of $C{H_4}$ , the first step is to look up the atomic masses of Carbon ( C) and hydrogen (H).
\[
  {\text{Atomic mass of }}H = 1u \\
  {\text{Atomic mass of }}C = 12u \\
 \]
Next, multiply the atomic mass of each atom by the number of atoms in the compound.
Molecular mass of $C{H_4}$ :
$
   = 12u \times 1 + 1u \times 4 \\
   = 12u + 4u \\
   = 16u \\
 $

Hence, the molar mass of $C{H_4}$ is 16 gm/mol.

Note- The molar mass of a chemical compound is defined as the mass of a sample of that compound divided by the amount of substance in that sample, measured in moles. The molar mass is a bulk, not molecular, property of a substance. The unit of molar mass is gram per mole but sometimes it is also referred to as unit mass.