Determination of

Avogadros constant
AT O M I C ST RUCT URE
Defining Avogadros
constant
G Avogadros constant i sthe number of
parti clesi n a moleof a substance. I t
equals6.023 x 10
23
mol
-1
.
G I t i sF , the Faraday constant 96,500
coulombsper mole, the amount of
electri c charge of one mole of
electrons di vi ded by 1.60 x 10
-19
coulomb the charge on one electron
( expressed ase ) .
G Thus, the Avogadro constant, N , i s
gi ven by: N = F
e
or:
9 6 , 5 0 0 = 6 . 0 2 3 x 1 0
2 3
m o l
-1
1 . 6 0 x 1 0
-1 9
Determining the Constant
G The number of moleculesi n one mole
of substance can be determi ned by
usi ng electrochemi stry.
G Duri ng electrolysis, current ( electron
flow) over ti me i smeasured i n an
electrolyti c cell ( see di agram) . The
number of atomsi n a wei ghed sample
i sthen related to the current to
calculate Avogadro sconstant.
Illustrating the Procedure
G The di agram i llustratesthe electrolysi s
of copper sulfate. To calculate
Avogadro sconstant, the researcher
wei ghsthe rod to be used asthe
anodebefore submergi ng the two
copper rodsi n copper sulfate. She
then connectsthe rodsto a power
supply and an ammeter ( an
i nstrument used to measure electri c
current) . She measuresand records
the current at regular i ntervalsand
calculatesthe average amperage ( the
uni t of electri c current) . O nce she
turnsoff the current, she wei ghsthe
anode to see how much masswaslost.
Usi ng the fi guresfor anode masslost,
average current, and durati on of the
electrolysi s, she calculatesAvogadro s
constant.
anode
Avogadros
constant
electrolysis
Faraday constant
mole
Key words
20
A
+
Determination of Avogadros constant
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