2 Handbook of Chemistry

Matter .h
. .
up1es some space and has some mass is Call d
. h h e
Anything whic occ f ll particles wh1c ave space betwee
. de up o sma h d . n.
matter. It is ma :1 ttract each ot er an are in a state of
them. The matter part1c es a
continuous motion.

Classification of Matter
Matter
Physical classification Chemical classification l

Homogeneous

ISolid I Liquid . ~as

Pure substances \
I
1
(For physical class1ficat1on Heterogeneous
I
see chapter 4)
Compounds

Metals Non-metals

IInorganic co~pounds 11 Organic compounds\

•- Pure Substances
They have characteristics differe~t from the mixtures. They have fixed
composition, whereas mixtures may -contain the components in any
ratio and their composition .is variable.
Elements
It is the simplest form of p11re subRtance, which can neither. be
decomposed nor be built from simpler substances by ordinary physical
nd
a chemical methods. It contains only one kind of atoms. The number
of elements known till date is 118. .
An element can be a metal, a non-metal or a metalloid.

J:ydrogen is the most abundant elelTient in the universe.

4
Oxygen ( G.G%), a non-metal, is the most abundant element in the
earth crust.
Al is the most abundant metal •,nth
.
h
e eart crust.
J
 Basic Co nc ep ts of Ch em ist ry 3
compounds
. als o the for m of ma tte r wh ich
18 ca n be for me d by co mb ini ng tw o
It ele me nts in a de fin ite rat io by ma or
ss. It ca n be dec om ~-" ~ed int o
~o :~n sti tue nt ele me nts by su ita ble
:ssma de of hy dro ge n an d ox yg en in
ch em ica l me tho ds , e.g . wa ttr (H
the rat io 1 : 8 by ma ss.
20)

Co mp ou nd s ca n be of tw o typ es :
(i) In or ga ni c co m po un ds Pre
vio usl y, it wa s be lie ve d th at the se
co mp ou nd s are de riv ed fro m no n-l
ivi ng sou rce s, lik e roc ks an d
mi ne ral s. Bu t the se are inf ac t the
co mp ou nd s of all the ele me nts
exc ept hy dri de s of ca rbo n (hy dro car
bo ns) an d the ir de riv ati ve s.
(ii) Or ga ni c co m po un ds Ac
co rdi ng to ea rli er sci en tis ts, the
co mp ou nd s are de riv ed fro m liv se
ing so urc es lik e pla nts an d
an im als , or the se rem ain bu
rie d un de r the ea rth ; (e. g.
pe tro leu m) . Ac co rdi ng to mo de rn
co nc ep t, the se are the hy dri de s
of car bo n an d the ir de riv ati ve s.

M ix tu re s
Th ese are ma de up of tw o or mo
re pu re sub sta nc es. Th ey ca n po sse
var iab le com po sit ion an d ca n be ss
sep ara ted int o the ir co mp on en ts
some ph ysi cal me tho ds. by
Mi xtu res ma y be ho mo ge ne ou
s
thr oug hou t) or he ter og en eo us (w (w he n com po sit ion is un ifo rm
he n com po sit ion is no t un ifo rm
thr oug hou t). 1- -:.
Mixture Se na r ~
4 Ha nd bo ok ofC he mi str y

of sep ara tin g sol ids ha .

(d) Cr ys tal lis ati on It is a pro ces s ven t. Vlng
dif fer en t sol ub ilit ies in a pa rti cu lar sol
ces s is ba sed up on the fat
(e) M ag ne tic se pa ra tio n Th is pro
t a ma gn et att rac ts ma gn eti c com po nen ts of a n1ixture \
tha
s. Th e non-111ao-netf
ma gn eti c an d no n-m agn eti c sub sta nce
can be use d to se; ara ti
sub sta nc e rem ain s un aff ect ed. Th us, it
c con 1po nen ts.
ma gn eti c com po nen ts fro m no n-m agn eti
mo lys is Th is me tho d is ba sed up on ra tes of diffusion of
(f) At
a gas eou s n1ixture.
ga ses .an d use d for the ir sep ara tio n fi·on1

At om s an d M ol ec ul es
me nt ,vh..ich can tak e par t in a
At om is the sm all est par tic le of an ele
t be cap abl e of independent
che mi cal rea cti on. It ma y or ma y no
exi ste nce .
ma tte r tha t has independent
Mo lec ule is the sim ple st par tic le of
e.g. H 2 , Cl2 , N 2 (diatomic),
exi ste nce . It ma y be hom oat om ic,
NH3 , CH 4 etc.
0 3 (tri ato mi c) or het ero ato 1ni c, e.g. HC l,
 Basic Concepts of Chemistry 5
Diffcront systems used for describing measurements of various
physical quant ities are:
(n) CGS system It is based on centimetre, gram and second as the
units of length, mass and time respectively.
(b) FPS system A British syste1Y1 which used foot (ft), pound (lb)
and second (s) as the fundamental units of length, mass and time
respectively.
(c) MKS system It is the system w_h ich uses metre (m), kilogram
(kg) and second (s) respectively for length, mass and time;
ampere (A) Vias added later on for electric current.
(d) SI system (1960) International system of units or SI units
contains following seven basic and two supplementary units:
,

Basic Physical Quantities and

Their Corresponding SI Units
- - - - -- ----------------- :-----
Physical quantity Name of SI unit , . Symbol for SI unit
Length (/) metre m
Mass (m) kilogram kg
Time (t) second s
Electric current (I) ampere A

Trermodynamic temperature (T) kelvin K

Amount of substance {r.) mole mol

Luminous intensity Uv> candela Cd

6 Han dbo ok of Chemistry

Mul tiple Prefix Symbol

Multiple Prefix Symbol Her e, N is call ed digit term (l.O
10 l deci d
102
4 yotta
y e.g. 138 .42 cm can be writte
4
1 zeta z 10 2 centi C wri tten as 2.0 x 10- _
102
10-3 milli m
1018 exa E
1015 peta p 10---6 micro µ Pre cis ion and Accura
T 10 9 nano n Pre cisi on refe rs to the closen1
1012 tera
10 12 pico p iden tica l mea sure men ts of a qt
109 giga G repr odu cibi lity of an experime:
10-15 femto f
106 mega M Precision = individt
10-1 8 atto a
103 kilo K Acc urac y is a mea sure of th
hecto h 10-21 zepto z valu e or the mea n value of a s
102
da 10-24 yocto y Accuracy = mean v
10 deca
In phy sica l mea sure men ts, ac
prec ise resu lts nee d not be ac,
So me Physical Qu an titi es
j

pre sen t in a sub stan ce. It

(i) Ma ss It is the am oun t of ma tter
rem ain s con stan t for a sub stan ce at
all the plac es. Its uni t is kg I Sig nif ica nt Figures
d. Sig nifi can t figu res are the
but in labo rato ries usu ally gra m is use
calc ulat ed qua ntit y. It includ
gra vity on an obje ct. It vari es ;
(ii) We igh t It is the forc e exe rted by cert aint y plus one more whicl
gra vity . Its uni t is New ton ,
from plac e to plac e due to cha nge in ' Gre ater the num ber of signif
(N) the unc erta inty .
e com mo n sca le to mea sure Rul es for dete rmi ning the nu
(iii) Tem per atu re The re are thre
(de gre e fah ren hei t) and K
tem per atu re °C (de gre e cels ius) , °F 1. All digi ts are sign_ific
atu re on two sca les (°C and
(kel vin) . K is the SI uni t. The tem per num ber .
owi ng rela tion ship :
F) are rela ted to eac h oth er by the foll
0
2. Zer os to the righ t of tl
°F = ~ (° C) + 32 e.g. 0.13 2, 0.0132 and
5
3. Exa ct num bers have i
sca le as foll ows :
The kelv in sca le is rela ted to cels ius
K = °C+ 273 .15 Ca lcu lati ons Involving !
ma tter (us ual ly by liqu id or a 1. In add itio n or Sll
(iv) Vo lum e The spa ce occ upi ed by rep orte d to the same
m3•
gas ) is call ed its vol ume . Its uni t is term wit h the leas t n
ume
(v) De nsi ty I~ is def ined as the am oun t ~r ma ss per· uni t vol 2.
3 e.g.
and has um ts kg m - or g cm - •
3
2.2 (2

Scientific Notation
In suc h not atio n, all mea sur eme nts (ho w 60
eve r larg e or sma ll) are -5.231
9.942
(Reported su.m shou l
exp ress ed as a num ber bet wee n 1.00
0 and 9.9 99 mu ltip lied or divided
by IO.
/ 1n gen era l it can be given as= N x 10"
j
 Basic Concepts of Chemistry 7
Here, N is called digit term (1.000-9.999) ~d n is known as exponent.
138.42 cm can be written as 1.3842 x 102 and 0.0002 can be
e. g. -4
written as 2.0 x 10 .

precision and Accuracy

Precision refers to the . closeness of the set of values obtained from
identical measurements of~ quantity. Precision is simply a measure of
reproducibility of an expenment.
Precision = individual value - arithmetic mean value
Accuracy is a measure of the difference between the experimental
value or the mean value of a set of measurements and the true value.
Accuracy = mean value - true value
In physical measurements, accurate results are generally precise but
precise results need not be accurate.

Significant Figures
Significant figures are the meaningful digits in a measured or
calculated quantity. It includes all those digits that are known with
certainty plus one more which is uncertain or estimated.
Greater the number of significant figures in a measurement, smaller
the uncertainty.
Rules for determining the number of significant figures are:
1. All digits are significant except zeros in the beginning of a
number.
2. Zeros to the right of the decimal point are significant.
e.g. 0.132, 0.0132 and 15.0, all have three significant figures.
3. Exact numbers have infinite significant figures.

Calculations Involving Significant Figures

1. In addition or subtraction, the final result should be
reported to the same number of decimal places as that of the
term with the least number of decimal places, ·
e.g. 2.512 (4 significant figures)
2.2 (2 significant figures)
5.23 (3 significant figures)
9.942 ~ 9.9
<Reported sum should have only one decimal point.)
8 HandbookofChemistry

2. In mu ltip lic ati on an d div isi on

, the res ult is rep ort ed to the
lea st pre cis e ter m or the
sam e num ber of sig nif ica nt fig ure s as
fig ure s, e.g.
ter m wit h lea st num ber of sig nif ica nt
)
·' 15. 724 + 0.4 1 = 38. 351 219 512 1 (38 .35

lts
Rounding Of f th e Nu me ric al Re su
ber of sig nif ica nt figures is
Wh en a num ber is rou nde d off, the num
sed by 1 onl y if the following
red uce d, the las t dig it ret ain ed is inc rea
owing dig it is 5 4, e.g.
dig it is~ 5 and is left as suc h if the foll
12. 696 can be wri tten as 12. 7
18. 35 can be wri tten as 18. 4
13. 93 can be wri tten as 13. 9

Dimensional Analysis
d to con ver t uni ts from one
Often while cal cul atin g, the re is a nee
acc om plis h thi s is called factor
sys tem to oth er. The me tho d use d to
dim ens ion al ana lys is.
label me tho d or uni t fac tor me tho d or
In this, x Co nve rsio n factor
Inf orm atio n sou ght = Inf orm atio n giv en
Imp ort ant Conversion Fac tor s
= 10-5 N IL= 100 0m l
ldyn e
latm = 101 325 Nm -
2 = 100 0cm3
=101 325 Pa (pascal) = 10-3 m3
5
lbar = 1 x 10 Nm -
2 = 1 dm 3
=1 x 105 (pascal)
1 L atm = 101 .325 J = 24.2 1 cal 1 gallon = 3. 785 4 L
9
lcal = 4.18 4 J = 2.61 3 x 1d eV 1 eV/atom = 96. 485 kJ mo1-1
27
19
leV = 1.60 218 9 x ICT J lam u or u = 1.66 x I0- kg
7
1 J = 10 erg = 931 .5 MeV
lesu· = 3.3 356 x 10- °C
1
1 A= 10-10 m

Laws of Chemical Co mb ina tio ns

com pou nds is gov ern ed by the
The com bin atio n of ele me nts t.o for m ·
foll ow ing six bas ic law s: _
 Basic Concepts of Chemistry 9

LaW of conservation of mass (Lavoisier, 1789) .

This law states that during any physical or chemical change, the t.otal
mass of the products is equal
. to the t.otal mass of reactants. It does not
hold good ~or nuc1ear reactions.
Law of definite proportions (Proust, 1799)
According t;o this law, a chemical compound obtained by different
sources always contains same percentage of each constituent element.
Law of multiple proportions (Dalton, 1803)
According t;o this law, if two elements can combine t;o form more than
one compound, the masses of one element that combine with a fixed
mass of the other element, are in the ratio of small whole numbers,
e.g. in NH3 and N 2H 4 , fixed mass of nitrogen requires hydrogen in the
ratio 3 : 2.
Law of reciprocal proportions (Richter, 1792)
According t;o this law, when two elements (say A and B) combine
separately with the same weight of a third element (say C), the ratio in
which they do so is the same or simple multiple of the ratio in which
they (A and B) combine with each other. Law of definite proportions,
law of multiple proportions and law of reciprocal proportions do not
hold good when same compound is obtained by using different isot.opes
of the same element, e.g. H 20 andD 20.

Gay Lussac's law of gaseous volumes (In 1808)

It states that under similar conditions of temperature and pressure,
whenever gases react t.ogether, the volumes of the reacting gases as
well as products (if gases) bear a simple whole number ratio.
Avogadro's hypothesis
! states that equal volumes of all gases under the same conditit\l1S of
rnperature and pressure contain the same number of molecules.

D~lton's Atomic Theory (1803)

~te t beory was based on laws of chemical combinations. It's basic
u1ates are:
1. All substances are made up of tiny, indivisible particles, called
atoms.
2
· In each element, the atoms are all alike and have the same
mass. The atoms of different elements differ in mass.
10 Handbook of Chemistry

3. At om s ca n ne ith er be cre
ate d no r de str oy ed du rin g an
y ph ysi cal M ol ec ul ar M as s
i.,
or ch em ica l ch an ge .
It is the ma ss of a molecule,
ms in 1
mp ou nd s or mo lec ule s res ult fro m co mb ina tio n of ato tha n -t h ma ss of C-12 ato
n
4. Co 12
·
som e sim ple nu me ric al rat io. ad dit ive pro pe rty an d can
be
1
ato mi c ma sse s of all the ato
Limitations ato ms co mb ine to for m mo lec
ule s. mo lec ule .
(i) It fai led to ex pla in ho w len cie s av eri
an d va
(ii) It do es ne t ex pla in the
dif fer enc e in ma sse s, siz es Mo1ecular ma ss =- -
me nts .
of the ato ms of dif fer en t ele

At om ic Mass ica tes tha t how nr am mo lec ula r mass or m,

the av era ge rel ati ve ato mi c ma ss of an ato m. It ind sub sta nc e expressed in grarr
It is th _!_th
es an ato m of tha t ele me nt is he av ier as co mp are d wi 12 MolE
ma ny tim

pa rt of the ma ss of on e
ato m of car bo n-1 2. Fo rm ul a M as s
· a to m1.c ma ss =· --- av era
--- ma_
ge__
':;_ of_
ss _ _m_
an_ato
So me su bs tan ce s suc h as
E

Aver age 12 mo lec ule s as the ir co nst itu en

_!_ X ma ss of an ato m of C s:
12 to ca lcu lat e the for mu la ma
es ·
sta te so diu m ch lor ide do
n an d is ve ry 5
. word av era ge ha s be en use d in the abo ve de fin itio sev era l ma ss of so diu m chl ori de is
~e
bec aus e ele me nts occ ur in na tur e as mi xtu re of
~1gnificant
ISOt.opes. So, at.omic ma ss
can be co mp ute d as Eq ui va le nt M as s
at. ma ss (2)
(l) x at. ma ss (1) + RA (2) x It is the ma ss of an ele me nt
• Av era ge ato mi c ma ss = RA 1 :
RA (l) + RA (2) or dis pla ces (by we igh t)
f 35 .5 pa rts of ch lor ine .
nc e of dif fer en t iso top es.
He re, RA is rel ati ve ab un da wt.
0
lat ed as · Eq. wt . of me tal =
, the ato mi c we igh t is ca lcu wt .of H
• In cas e of volatile chlorides
At. wt. = Eq. wt. x va len cy w1
or =---
of ch lor ide wt .of m
an d val enc y = 2 x va po ur de ns ity
eq. wt . of me tal + 35 .5 w
or =---
Pe tit' s rul e , wt .o fd
• According to Du lon g an d
At om ic we igh t x specific he
at = B.4 Eq. wt . of me tal = _ __
vo lum e 1
Gram "~omlc Mass (GAM) . . In ge ne ral
ex pre sse d in gr am ato mi c '
Atomic ma ss of an ele me nt m.
ato gra m is cal led its W t.o f su b
ma ss or gra m- ato m or mo le- W t.o f su b
 Basic C(?ncepts of Chemis try 11

Molec ular Mass

It is the mass of a molecul e, i.e. numbe r of times a molecu le is heavier
than _!_th mass of C-12 atom. Molecu lar mass of a substan ce is an
12
additive propert y and can be calcula ted by talcing algebra ic sum of
atomic masses of all the atoms of differen t elemen ts present in one
molecule.
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ~
Mo1ecular mass = average relative mass of one molecu le
1
- x mass of C-12 atom
12

rcram molecul ar mass or molar mass is molecul ar mass of a

substance expressed in gram.
Molecu lar mass = 2 x VD (Vapour density) _J
Formula Mass
Some substan ces such as sodium chloride do not contain discrete
molecules as their constitu ent units. The formula such as NaCl is used
to calculat e the formula mass instead of molecu lar mass as in the solid
state sodium chlorid e does not exist as a single entity. e.g. formula
mass of sodium chlorid e is 58.5 u .
 Basic Concepts of Chemistry 13

Mole Concept
Term mole was suggested by Ostwald (Latin word mole= heap)
A mole is defined as the amount of substance which contains same
number of elementary particles (atoms, molecules or ions) - as the
number of atoms present in 12 g of carbon (C-12).
23
1 mol = 6.023 x 10 atoms = one gram-atom = gram atomic mass
23
1 mol = 6.023x 10 molecules= gram molecular
mass
In gaseous state at STP (T = 273 K, p = 1 atm)
23
Gram molecular mass = 1 mol = 22.4 L = 6.022 x 10 molecules
23
Standard number 6.023 x 10 is called Avogadro number in honour
of Avogadro (he did not give this number) and is denoted by NA.
The volume occupied by one mole molecules of a gaseous substance .is
called molar volume or gram molecular volume.

um er o mo es = amount
_ _ _ _of
_ substance
_ _ _ _ (in gram)_
__.:___::;____
N b f 1
molar mass

Mu\t,p\\ed b'/
Amount of a
substance J
(in gra~~-JL---:-:- :-==-::----L..7" -;-..
-----.....-- Number
NA
of
(6.023 x 1o23)
~~:=-:-:-:-J.~e~ n~tit~ie~sj
Divided by ~ Divided by
· b-o 4i,.
~0 ~
~~ 22.4 L ~O'
~..:s ~

IVolume of gas (in L) at STP I

Number of molecules = number of moles x NA
Number of molecules in lg compound = -{"A
g-mo ar mass
__ , ____ , -- - I ,,._3 /1 .-T .\ n~ an ;.-1p~1 O'~S at STP is called
 14 , . H~ndbookofChemistry

E1 !1pirica1·- an d M ol ec ul ar Fo rm ul ae
-.~ ..
pic ica l for mu la is the sim ple st for mu la of a co mp ou nd giving
Em
pre sen t in on e mo lec ule ,
sin fpl est wh ole nu mb er rat io of ato ms
la of ben zen e (C Jf6 ). .
e \g_:5-J-I is em pir ica l for mu
la of a co mp ou nd sho wm g the
Mo lec ula r for mu la is the act ua l for mu
er of ato ms of co nst itu en t ele me nts pre sen t in a mo lec ule of
tot al nu mb
la of ben zen e.
com po un d, e.g . CJ -! 6 is mo lec ula r for mu
n
Mo lec ula r for mu l~'-- (Em pir ica l for mu la)
g va lue s 1, 2, 3, ... , etc., and
wh ere , n is sim ple wh ole nu mb er ha vin
ca n be cal cul ate d as
mo lec ula r for mu la ma ss
n=
em pir ica l for mu la 1n ass

St oi ch io m et ry
ati ve pro po rtio ns in wh ich the rea cta nts rea ct an d the pro du cts
Th e rel
the Gr eek wo rd me an ing 'to
are for me d, is cal led sto ich ion 1et ry (fr om
me asu re an ele me nt' .)
mi tin g re ag en t It is the rea cta nt wh ich is com ple tel y con sum ed
Li
du rin g the rea cti on.
re ag en t It is the rea cta nt wh ich is no t com ple tel y con sum ed
Ex ce ss
on .
an d rem ain s un rea cte d du rin g the rea cti
ent of pro du ct can be
r,;, a irreversible che mic al rea ctio n, the ext
t in the che mic al rea, _c tio n._ j _~
·c om put ed on the basis of lim itin g rea gen . --

r Pe r ce nt Yie ld
cti on is usu all y les s tha n the
Th e act ual yie ld of a pro du ct in an y rea
e of cer tai n sid e rea cti on s.
the ore tic al yie ld bec aus e of the occ urr enc
Pe r cen t yie ld= act u~ l yiel_d x 10 0
the ore tic al yie ld
 20

~ le Fra.ction
It is the ratio of nun1ber of moles of a
compone nt to . e total nu_n1b-c r of n1oles o · 1e
solutio n .. If a substa.n ce ·A· dissolve s 111
1

substanc e ·s· and their ni1mber of moles arc 1

nA and '1n respecti\" ely; U1en the mole fractions ~
of A. and B are given as l
M,o le fraction of A
No.of moles of A
=--- ---- ---
No.of moles of solution
nA

OJ
Mole fractl.o n of B
~No.ofII1oles of B
y~.of moles of solution
-_ \t .
nB
nA + na
__,-/--·
~ ~larity · . ··, . . .· . ,
It is · most w;idely used unit and is denoted
b M is defined as ·the ·number of moles of
... e sol~ m.1~u-e
' .
~f the·Solutio' Thu_s,
,,
. '
•
. .
•
.
• • #

· of: solute
 l . Mass per cent
-It is obtained by using the following relation:

~ ass per cent= Mass of solute xlOO '\...---

. Mass of solution
/ ·
 otatiOi lS, tne IOUUW lllb pv~u..... , - - - - - - '-..--
n ~ * (0 t
in IJliDd. the
.M ltiplic ation and Divisi on stu
~ se two operat ions follow the same ~les rep
which are there for expon ential numb ers, 1.e. val
8 5 otb
(5. 6 XlQ5 ) X( 6. 9 X10 ) = ( 5. 6 X 6. 9) (l0 +S)
re{
13
=(5.6 x6.9) xl0 2.(
13
10
Th
= 38.64 X
14
ac•
= 3.864 X 10 mt
2 as
(9.8X l0-2 )x (2.5 X10--6 )=(9.8 X 2.5)(10- +(--6))
ac
2 6
=(9.8 x2.5) (10- - ) fr<
Ti
= 24.50 X 10-8
= 2.450 X 10-7

_2 .'ixl0- 34 =(2.7 +5.5)( 10-3- 4 )=0.4 909 X 10-

7

5.5xl 0
=4.90 9 X 1()-8
~ ition and Subtr action
For these two operat ions, first the numb ers are
writte n in such a way that they have same '
exponent. After that, the coefficient are added C

or subtra cted as the case may be. t

f
Thus, for addin g 6.65 x 104 and 8.95 x 103 ,
6.65 x 104 + 0.895 x 104 expon ent is made '
same for both the numb ers. '
Thep, these numb ers can be added as follows
(6.65 + 0.895) X 104 = 7 .545 X 104
Similarly, the subtra ction of two numb ers can (
be done as shown below :
2.5 X 10-2 - 4.8 X lQ-3
=: (2.5 X 10-2 ) - (0.48 X 1Q-2 )
=: (2.5 - 0.48) X 10-2 = 2.02 X }Q-2
 -

M ea su re m en ta /g
l 2
St ud en t A J\v,~ragc (g)
1.!J5 l .D:J
St ud en t IJ l .!J4 0
l .B4 2.0 r;
St ud en t c; 2.0 1
1. !J!}5
•ers ;.u-e l .H!)
2.0 00
~
~ ~l lll e '- c'.The un ce rta in ty In th e ex pe rim en tal or th e
ad de ci ca i'c rrt ated va lu es Is in di ca ted ~ ;; ti
th e nu m be r of sig ni fic an t fig ur es . i on in 1
ifican~
X IO --\ fig ur es ar e m ea ni ng fu l dig its wh ich ar e kn ow
n
,v ith ce rta in_ !y . Th e un ce rta in ty is ind
n1 ad e ica ted by
\\T iti ng th e ce rta in di gi ts an d th e las t
un ce rta in
di gi t. Th us , if we wr ite a re su lt as
11 .2 mL, we
sa y th e 11 is ce rta in an d 2 is un ce
rta in an d
th e un ce rta in ty wo ul d be + 1 in th e la
st digit.
-s ca n Q Jn le ss ot he rw ise sta te d, an un ce rta in ty
of + 1
in th e la st di gi t is al wa ys un de rs
to o~
)ilO '\\- sa y m e .1 .l 1s ce rta in an d 2 is
S
un ce rta in an d
th e un ce rta in ty -w ou ld be + 1 in
th e la st dig it.
-s ca n Q_ Jn les s ot he rw ise sta te d, an _un ce rta in ty of +l
in th e la st di gi t is al- wa ys un
de rs to o~
TI 1.e re ar e ce rta in ru le s fo r de ten
ni ni ng th e
nu m be r of sig ni fic an t fig ur es . Th
es e ~e sta ted
be lo w:
~ I no n- ze ro di gi ts ar e sig
ni fic an t. Fo r
ex am pl e in 28 5 cm , th er e ar
e th re e
sig ni fic an t fig ur es ~ di n 0. 25
;o m e mL , th er e
ar e tw o sig ni fic an t fig ur es .
ti it. . .
- a·
Ze ro s pr ec e in g to fir st no n- ze ro d1g1t ar e
(ts to .
no t s1 gn 1·r·1c an t • Su ch . ze ro in di ca tes
th
an d e
·tt on of de ci m al po in t.
ta lk po s1
0 03 ha s on e sig ni fic an t fig ur e an d
~~52 ha s tw o sig ni fic an t figure~ ..
1

~ou s .
we r. (3 ) Ze ro s be tw ee n tw o no n- ze ro d1 g1 ts ar e
•
10

~ f i .·cant. Thus, 2.005 has four S1<1'niAcant

gures. &LUJ.
I

·~ .
8 at th e end or Iig ht of a nu mb er are
significant pro vid ed the y are on the rig ht
sid e of the _d eci ma l poi nt. Fo r example, r
0.2 00 g ha~ thr ee sig nif ica nt figures.
t
~U t, _if othe~°se, ~e tet nri n~ Zet OS _ar ~o t
f
sig nif ica nt if the re 1s no dec ima l po m ~r
exa mp le, 100 ha s onl y on e sig nif ica nt J
fig ure , bu t 100 . ha s thr ee sig nif ica nt
fig ure s an d 100 .0 ha s fou r sig nif ica nt
fig ure s? Su ch_ nu mb ers are be tte r
rep res ent ed in scientific not atio n. _We can
exp res s the nu m _ ber I 00 as I x I 0 2 for one r !,
2
sig njf ica nt fig ure . 1.0 x 10 for t\\;O 2
y.
sig nif ic~ nt fig ure s an d ~s 1.0 0 x 10 ·
for thr ee sig nif ica nt fig ure s.
L)a YC ou nti ng riu mb ers of objects, for exa mp le,
. 2 bal ls or 20 eggs, hav e infmite sig nif ica nt J
figures as the se are ~p ~t nu mb ers and can ~
be rep res ent ed by writing infmite nu mb er
of zer os aft er pla cin g a dec im al i.e .,
2 = 2.0 00 00 0 or 20 = 20 .00 00 00
¥n um be rs wr itte n in scientific not ati on,
alldJgits are s!fnillcant e.g., 4.0 lxl 023 ha s thr ee
sfgnttlcant figures, an d 8.2 56 x· 10- ha s fou r
~fgnfflcan~ !lg1.1res~ ·@.t1 ,t •
s1g:-1 11 nc an t ~g 11 .1 c~ . -
f S ig n if ic ant ~
d S u b tr ac ti on o
,.._ _ · ~ ~{"' ,.. .~n
(

su lt ca n n o t ha ve n1 or e di gi ts to th e ri g h t 1
T h e re J
m al po in t th an ei th er of th e or ig in al
o f th e de ci
n u m b er s.
1 2 .1 1
1 8 .0
1 .0 1 2
3 1 .1 2 2 ·

0 h as on ly o n e di gi t af te r th e de ci m al
~8.
an d th e re su lt sh o u ld b e re p o rt ed on ly
p o in t w h ic h
it af
_ te r th e de ci m al po 'in t
u p to o n e di.g
is 3 "I .
ir·1--i. tio,1 a n d D iv is io n n [S
ig n if ic a n t
u 1t i1,?
F i. gu r, ,t ~
er at io n s, th e re su lt m u st b e re po rted
In th es e op er e in
si g n if ic an t fi gu re s a s ar e th
w it h n o m o re ic an t
e n t w it h th e few si g n if
th e m e a su re m
figures.
2 .5 x l. 2 5 = 3. 125
 ___ ,-~ -- ,-;l1rcs. t.ln1H, lt ls ~s.1 .
--- ~ • . : " 1- 1

Wlillc lht1ltl11g t lie rc.~sttll to tl1c

rcqtilre~
nu mb er of t.il~nlncnnt. ng nre s ns done in tht 3 tn
above mnUtcmaUcnl opc11\lion. one bn s to kt-e~
in 111t11d t lie fc>llowiitg JlO.ltits f(>r rot1t1t\i11g oij
t~ um be rs
J · If tl1e rtgl1t111ost cltgtl to be rc1.11ovcu i5 111or~ is t
nt · th an 5-).he pre ce din g nu mb er ls lnc rea st~ tht
nt by o/11c. for cxa111plc, 1.3 86
er i.e.
If we l1avc to rc111ovc 6. we l1ave to rot111c lt is :
61 .3 9
0 . lf th e rlgl1t111ost dlg1t to be ren1oved is less ex
'l
tha n 5, tl1c pre ced ing nw11ber is no t changed, ot
Fo r exan1ple, 4.3 34 if 4 is to be removed, di
th en th e rest1lt is rou nd ed up to 4.3 3. 01
e,
J. . If lh e rig l1t mo st digit to be re1noved is 5,
·~· th en the preceding nu mb er is no t ch an ge d -V
E
·
~ if it 1s an ev en nu mb er bu t it is inc rea sed 0
by on e if it is an od d nu mb er. Fo r example,
if 6.3 5 is to be ro un de d by removing 5, we
/
qa ve to inc rea se 3 to 4 giving 6.4 as the
V re su lt. Ho we ve r. if 6.2 5 ts to be rou nd ed
of f it ts ro un de d off to 6.2 .

.3 Dimensional Analysis
n while ca lcu lat ing . the re is a ne ed to
convert un its from one system to other. Th e
 (ii) De ter mi ne the mo lal ity
of chlortifioform in the ~ ter sample
Ex pre ss the following in the sci .
7
en · c no tat ion ~
/ (i) 0.0 04 8 ~ .Lio% 'I<. ,o-~ •
(ii} 23 4,0 00 ➔ z ., 2, 'i ,C 10 ~
(iii ) 80 08 --- J 'b • oo ~ ')(. I o '.3
(iv) 50 0.0 _, S "){ tO'Z-

~ (v) 6.0 01 2 _..., Q,o 0 0 \2-

Ho w ma ny sig nif ica nt fig ure s are

~ 2-
pre sen t in the following?) ). ,
(i) 0.0 02 5 - )
f
(ii) 20 8 ~ 3
(iii) 50 05 --- ) l\
(iv) 12 6,0 00 _, '1,
·(V) 50 0.0 ~ ~
_ ../ (vi) 2.0 03 4 ~ a;- .
LJ,-:20 Ro un d up the fol low ing up to thr
ee sig nif ica nt figures:-Ji..
\,A1'("34 .21 6 g~ o 2..- .
.
(ii) 10 .41 07 \O •l. \
(iii) 0.0 45 97 O•OL\bO
(iv) 28 08 ~ 2-% t0 . - -~ toe:eth
. ~1.30 What will be the mass ot one ~~c atom in g ·t
How many significant figures should be present in the answer of the fallowing
~I calculations?
0.02856 X 298.15 X 0.112
(i) {ii) 5 X 5.364
0.5785
(iii) 0.0125 + 0.7864 + 0.0215
How many significant figures should be present in the answer of the following - -,,
calculations?
\J
0.02856 >< 298.1 S >< 0.112
(i) 0.5785

(ii) 5 X 5.364

(iii) 0.0125 + 0. 7864 + 0.0215

Answer:
0.02856x 298.15 x 0. I 12
(i) 0.5785

Least precise number of calculation = 0.112

Number of significant figures in the answer

= Number of significant figures in the least precise number

=3

(ii) 5 X 5.364

Least precise number of calculation = 5.364

 Number of signif icant figure s in the answ er= Numb er of signi
fican t figur es in 5. 364
=4

(\ii) 0.012 5 + 0.786 4 + 0.021 5

Since the least numb er of decim al place s in each term is

four, the numb er of signi fican t
figure s in the answe r is also 4.