Mississippi Science CHE.4.6
The Standard
- CHE.4
- Students will demonstrate an understanding of the types of bonds and resulting atomic structures for the classification of chemical compounds.
Use mathematical and computational analysis to determine the empirical formula and the percent composition of compounds.
2026 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Science · Bonding
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students convert element masses or mass percentages into moles, then reduce the mole ratios to find an empirical formula. They use atomic masses to calculate each element’s percent of a compound’s mass.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Given the masses of elements in a sample, a student finds the simplest whole-number formula and shows the mole calculations. They calculate mass percentages that add to about 100%.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may use the ratio of gram amounts instead of converting to moles. They may round a 1.5 ratio to 2 instead of doubling every number in the ratio. Some divide by one element’s mass rather than the compound’s total mass when finding a percentage.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: A sample contains 24 g carbon, 4 g hydrogen, and 32 g oxygen. Using atomic masses of 12, 1, and 16, find its empirical formula and each element’s mass percent.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs bags of mixed paper clips and washers; they weigh each type and divide by one item’s mass to find the simplest count ratio.
Ask students why water is about 89% oxygen by mass even though each molecule has twice as many hydrogen atoms.
Teams match 12 g C, 2 g H, and 16 g O to CH2O, CHO, or CH4O, then check percentages.
Hand out a fertilizer label listing ammonium nitrate, NH4NO3; students calculate nitrogen’s mass percent and check a 35% nitrogen claim.
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Printable CHE.4.6 Worksheet
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Related Standards
- CHE.4.8
Plan and conduct controlled scientific investigations to produce mathematical evidence of the empirical composition of a compound.
- PHS.3.5
Use mathematical and computational analysis to determine the atomic mass of binary compounds.
- CHE.8.7
Use mathematical and computational analysis to predict the results of reactions using the concentration of solutions (i.e., solution stoichiometry).
- CHE.6.6
Use mathematics and computational analysis to support the concept of percent yield and limiting reagent.
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