Understanding g mol in Unit Operations Course

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the unit "g mol" (gram mole) as encountered in a Unit Operations course. Participants seek clarification on its definition and relationship to molarity, with references to specific texts and examples from chemistry.

Discussion Character

  • Conceptual clarification
  • Technical explanation
  • Mathematical reasoning

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses confusion about the term "g mol" and its definition, questioning whether it refers to mass or moles.
  • Another participant explains that "g mol" is understood to be equivalent to "mol" based on accepted conventions in chemistry.
  • A further contribution clarifies the relationship between grams and moles, providing examples such as 18 grams of water equating to 1 mole and 18 kilograms equating to 1 kilomole.
  • One participant provides a formula for molar concentration (C = n/V) and illustrates a calculation involving sulfuric acid, emphasizing the interchangeability of moles and grams through mathematical manipulation.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that "g mol" is equivalent to "mol" based on convention, but there is no consensus on the clarity of its definition or its implications for understanding molarity.

Contextual Notes

Some participants reference specific texts and examples, which may introduce assumptions about the audience's familiarity with chemistry concepts and terminology.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be useful for students in chemistry or engineering courses, particularly those studying unit operations or related topics in physical sciences.

conSCIous
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I am currently taking a Unit Operations course. The book and the instructor both refer to a unit, g mol (gram mol). The book defines molarity as 1 (g mol)/Liter. I am familiar with molarity but always in the past it was defined as mol/Liter. I do not understand what this unit is supposed to be. Mass? mols? Can someone clear this up for me?

The text I am using is Transport Processes and Separation Process Principles, 4th edition, Christie Geankopolis.

thanks
 
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"gmol" --- "relative" molecular mass times grams; compare to the kgmol, lbmol, tonmol (English or metric --- going to be different). The chemists got here first, and a "mole" (mol) is understood to be a g-mol --- had chemists been raised in religious awe of the English units system, we might have a convention in which the unspecified "mol" would be understood to be the dram, scruple, poise, oz., grain, or some other irrational mass unit times molecular mass (weight).
 
To summarize (at the cost of sounding repetitive) : "g mol" is the same as "mol", as per accepted convention.
 
"Mol"is in perfect connection with "gram" and "Kilomol" with "Kilogram".Par éxample
18 grams of water =1 mol
18 Kilograms of water=1 Kilomol

Daniel.
 
Even though this isn't exactly related I think it might help you understand

[tex]C=\frac{n}{V}[/tex]

where C is the molar concentration in moles per liter (mol/L)
V is the volume in Liters
n is the number of moles of solute

I'm doing this type of stuff now, so here's and example:
1 mole of H2SO4 = 98 g
What is the volume of a solution whose concentration is 0.2 mol/L if it contains 49 grams of sulphuric acid.

So in looking for the volume you have
[tex]V=\frac{n}{C}[/tex]

but n must be in moles not grams so

[tex]\frac{1 \\ mole}{98 \\ g}=\frac{x \\ mole}{49 \\ g}[/tex]
Cross multiply and you get 0.5 mole is equal to 49 grams of sulphuric acid. (though its just haf and half :wink: )

Now when you use the formula you always want your units to cancel out and in this case be left with L.

[tex]V=\frac{0.5 \\ mol}{\frac{0.2 \\ mol}{L}}[/tex]

mol cancels and you're left with L.

[tex]V=\frac{0.5}{0.2}=2.5 Liters[/tex]

So mole and grams are interchangible just with a little math and sometimes not even, for example 39 grams of Potasium (atomic mass) is equal to 1 mol of atoms, and so on.
Maybe it helped.
 

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