Question

What is the formula weight of methane?

Answer 1

Hint: As we know that methane is an organic compound with the chemical formula $C{{H}_{4}}$.It is a ${{14}^{th}}$ group hydride and also the simplest alkane which is the main constituent of natural gas. So to calculate the formula weight of methane, we just need to do the summation of formula weights of carbon and hydrogen atom as per requirement.

Complete answer:
Let us study about methane and then calculate its formula weight as follows:-
Methane is gas which is found in small quantities in the atmosphere of Earth. It is the simplest hydrocarbon which consists of one carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms. It is also a powerful greenhouse gas. Methane is flammable i.e., it can easily catch fire and hence used as a fuel worldwide. It is also the principal component of natural gas which is very useful.
-Formula weight (also known as formula mass) of a molecule is the summation of the atomic weights of the atoms in its empirical formula. Empirical formula of a molecule or compound is the simplest positive integer ratio of atoms present in that same molecule or compound. The empirical formula for methane is: $C{{H}_{4}}$.
The calculation of formula weight for $C{{H}_{4}}$ is as follows:-
Atomic weight of carbon = 12.0107 amu
Atomic weight of hydrogen = 1.00784 amu
Therefore the formula weight of methane ($C{{H}_{4}}$) = 1 (12.0107 amu) + 4 (1.00784 amu) = 16.04206 amu

Note:
We generally get confused between formula weight and molecular weight but molecular weight of a molecule is the average mass calculated by adding together the atomic weights of the atoms in the molecular formula whereas formula weight of a molecule is the summation of the atomic weights of the atoms in its empirical formula.