Question

What is the number of hydrogen atoms in $1$ mole of methane?

Answer 1

Methane is usually found in gaseous state and it is the simplest alkane hydrocarbon which consists of one carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms. It is a powerful greenhouse gas. Chemical formula of methane is $C{H_4}$. It is a tetrahedral molecule with four $C - H$ bonds. We can start this problem by using Avogadro’s number.

Complete step-by-step answer:
We already know that $1$ mole of methane, $C{H_4}$contains $6.023 \times {10^{23}}$ molecules of $C{H_4}$ ,
and we also know that,
$1$ molecule of $C{H_4}$ contains $4$hydrogen atoms.
Hence we can say that,
$6.023 \times {10^{23}}$ molecules of $C{H_4}$ $= 4 \times 6.023 \times {10^{23}}$ hydrogen atoms.
$= 24.088 \times {10^{23}}$ hydrogen atoms
Hence, we can conclude that $1$ mole of methane contains the $24.088 \times {10^{23}}$ number of hydrogen atoms.

Additional information:
Avogadro’s number is a proportion that relates molar mass on an atomic scale to physical mass on a human scale. Avogadro’s number can also be called as the number of elementary particles which are likely to be molecules, atoms, compounds per mole of a substance.

Mole is the SI unit of quantity of a chemical entity such as atoms, electrons, or protons. Avogadro’s number can be defined as the amount of a substance that contains the same number of particles as there will be in $12$ grams of carbon. We can also say that Avogadro’s number is that the mass of a mole of a substance will be equal to that substance’s molecular weight.

Note: $1$ mole of a substance contains $6.023 \times {10^{23}}$ units of that substance. The value $6.023 \times {10^{23}}$ is known as Avogadro’s number. The $C - H$ bond in methane is inert and also non-polar, with relatively high bond dissociation energy, which makes methane a comparatively unreactive starting material.