This topic is probably the most

important topic

to understand in order for you to

successfully pass

your Chemistry class. You will be

converting units

all semester long. So let's start with

understanding the idea

of unit conversion and how conversion

factors work.

Let's say you wanted to translate a

phrase from English to French

but you don't speak French you only

speak English

and you don't have access to google

translate. You do however

have a friend who speaks both english

and Spanish

and your friend knows someone who speaks both Spanish

and French. So if we wanted to go from

English to French

your friend would translate the phrase

from English to Spanish

and the person your friend knows would

then translate the phrase from

Spanish to French. Notice how the people

who knew two languages

were either in the middle or at the end

of this

and the person who only knew one

language was at the beginning.

This is how unit conversion works, the

given unit

is what we start with and your

conversion factors are in the middle and

at the end.
A conversion factor has two different

units, they allow us to go from one unit to a

different unit. Notice that we always align the same

units across from each other so they can
cancel out

and thus allow us to change the unit. You

know where a conversion factor goes

based off of the previous unit. You will

often see

the setup of unit conversion questions

like this

where the point where the lines meet

represents multiplication.

As you progress in this class you will

see questions like this

or even longer setups again this just

means there are multiplication symbols

here. The metric system and dimensional

analysis are two topics where unit conversion is used.

Both topics allow us to convert units of length, mass

volume and time. The metric system allows us to

convert units that share a common base.

For example we are able to go from

milliliters to liters or from kilograms

to milligrams.

The base units we commonly see are grams, meters and liters

while for dimensional analysis. We are

able to convert

units that do not share a common base.

For example

we are able to go from feet to inches or

kilograms to pounds.

A common mistake students make with the metric system

is not knowing if they should divide by

a number

or multiply. This disconnect comes from

not understanding how to find the

conversion factor, so let's fix that. These numbers are

actually representing these small and large numbers, these

are written in scientific notation we
just don't show the one in front.

Let's say we were asked to convert from

kilograms to grams.

We would start with the given number

first, then make sure to align the same

units across from each other so

they can cancel out. Now this is where

most students get stuck. If you feel this way then I

recommend trying this trick of mine. Always place

the 10 raised to an exponent with the base unit

so remember our common base units are

grams,

meters and liters. So since this is

kilograms

and the metric system shows that kilo is

10 raised to the third power

this will go with the grams on top. Next

always place a 1 with the different unit

or the unit with

one of these prefixes, so a one goes with

the kilograms. This trick will stop you from guessing

and help you get the setup right

each time. So our kilograms cancel and

we are left with this as our answer.

Here's another example,

this time we are using multiple

conversion factors.

We are asked to go from kilometers to

centimeters.

Note that there is no way for us to only

use one conversion factor

because there is no conversion factor

that allows us to go

from kilometers to centimeters. Instead

we need to have a connecting unit

meaning we need to go from kilometers back to

meters and then to centimeters. Notice that

both conversion factors have to have one unit in common in order

for this to work so our connecting unit is the meters.

We'll start with our kilometers, next

we want to go from kilometers to meters

so using our trick we will place a one

with the kilometers on the bottom.

Since we always want the same units

across from each other so they can

cancel and the 10 to the third power which is

what kilo is for the metric system will go on top

with the meters.

Now that the kilometers cancel we can go

from meters to centimeters,

so we will place the meters on the

bottom so these units can cancel and the

10

to the negative second power goes with

the meters,

since centi on the metric system is this

and the one

goes on top with the centimeters the

meters cancel

and we get our answer in centimeters.

Notice

that the trick really helps you out here

because you don't have to second guess

yourself. Instead of thinking do I multiply or do

I divide, instead look at where the base unit is

and where the unit with the prefix is.

Moving on to dimensional analysis. In

dimensional analysis there are set conversion factors that

you will be expected to memorize

and others will be provided in the

question. Here are some common conversion factors

you will see.

Let's do an example, now we will start
with our given feet and now we have to pick a

conversion factor that has feet in it

so the only one we see is this one this

is our first conversion

factor. We'll place the same unit of feet

across from each other so they can

cancel

and the inches will go on top. Next we'll

find

a conversion factor that has inches in

it. Luckily

this one goes from inches to centimeters

which is what we are asked to find.

This is our second conversion factor. Now

align the inches across from each other

so they can cancel and the centimeters will go on top

multiply everything together and this is what we

get. Remember to round to the correct number

of sig figs, we do not look at the set conversion

factors to determine the sig figs,

we instead look at the numbers given in

the original question. So

we would round this up to four sig figs.

The next topic that makes up the

majority of your chemistry class

is stoichiometry, this is another form of

unit conversion

except we are converting units that

relate to elements or

chemical reactions. Like going from grams

of sodium to

atoms of sodium. Conversion factors still

apply here.

We just have different conversion

factors that you will be required to

know how to figure out

and others you need to memorize. Let's

start with the conversion factors

you need to know how to figure out. Molar

mass allows us to go from

grams to moles and moles to grams. We

find the molar mass

by using the masses found on the

periodic table.
For compounds we will add up each

individual element's molar mass together to get the

total molar mass of the compound. A mole to mole

ratio allows us to go from

moles of one compound to moles of a

different compound.
Note this could also be moles of one

element to another element or element to a

compound and so on.

We can find the mole to mole ratio in two

different places. If given a balanced chemical equation or

a way to find the balanced chemical

equation

then we use the coefficients in the

chemical equation.

If there is no coefficient in front then

assume it is one.

For example we can say one mole of

magnesium nitride

is equal to three moles of magnesium

hydroxide

or six moles of water is equal to two

moles of NH3 and

so on. If there isn't enough information

and you are only given a chemical

formula then you will find the mole to mole ratio by

using the subscripts in the chemical formula. For example we

could state that in one mole of C2H4 there are two moles of

carbon or four moles of hydrogen. The conversion

factors to memorize are these two.

Avogadro's number allows us to go from
moles to atoms, molecules, particles and formula

units. This number always goes with these units

and the one always goes with the moles.

Note

that avogadro's number can also be

rounded to this,

it depends on what your teacher prefers

to use.

This conversion factor is for volume and

is used for gases,

so whenever a question states at STP and

gives you

liters you know you can use this

conversion factor which

allows us to go from moles to liters and

vice versa.

Let's figure out what conversion factors

to use in this question. We are asked to

find the molecules of C2H4 and we are given

45.8 grams of C2H4,

so we have to think of a plan on how to

go from grams to molecules,

specifically what conversion factors

will we need.
If you aren't sure what to do first

notice that all these conversion factors all equal

moles, so we could start with converting our

unit of grams to moles. To do this we will use the molar mass as

our first conversion factor.

This allows us to go from grams to moles,

next we need to find what conversion

factor equals moles and allows us to go

to molecules. Avogadro's number allows us to do this,

so this is our second conversion factor. Let's

set this up, starting with our given unit of 45.8

grams of C2H4,
since our first conversion factor is

molar mass we need to find the molar

mass of C2H4

by adding up all the individual elements

masses from the periodic table

and multiply any subscripts shown. Doing

this we get this as our molar mass.

The grams go on the bottom and one mole

goes on top since we always want to

align the units so they can cancel. Now that

we have our moles and we will use

avogadro's number to convert to

molecules.

The one mole goes on the bottom and

molecules goes on top,

cancel out the moles and after we

multiply these two numbers

and divide by the denominator we get our

answer which

should be rounded to three sig figs

since the given number had three sig

figs.
Because this topic is the most important

topic you will see in chemistry

you need to practice this in order to

successfully pass this class

and you know I love making things easier

for you, simply click the link in the

description to try out these practice

problems, then come right back to the next video