CHM012

Chemistry for
Engineers
Topic 4: Stoichiometry
Bryan M. Montalban, M.Sc., R.Ch. Sept 21, 2020
Department of Chemistry
College of Science and Mathematics
MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology

[email protected] Tel. | Page

 Questions to Consider
⮚ Can atoms be counted?

⮚ Does the number of atoms in a reaction affect the result?

⮚ Can the mass of a sample be used to determine the number of moles it comprises?

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 Average Mass
✔ It is used to determine the number of atoms in a set quantity of a substance.
✔ It is determined using a sample of the substance
✔ Atoms do not need to be identical in order to be counted by weighing

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 Atomic Mass
✔ The modern system of determining atomic masses was first used in 1961, based on 12C - 12 atomic mass units (u).
✔ The most accurate method currently used to compare the masses of atoms involves the use of the mass
spectrometer

Mass Spectrometer

⮚ Atoms are passed into a stream of high-speed

electrons that convert them into positive ions.
⮚ Ions are passed through a magnetic field.
⮚ Accelerating ions create their own magnetic field,
resulting in a change in the path travelled.
⮚ The degree of deviation depends on the mass of
the ion. Ions with higher masses deviate the
least.
⮚ Deviated ions hit the detector plate. Comparing
the deflected position of each ion gives their
mass.
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 Determining Atomic Masses
❖ Consider the analysis of 12C and 13C in a mass
spectrometer.

❖ Based on the definition of the atomic mass unit.

Exact number by definition

❖ The average mass for an element is also referred to as the average atomic mass or atomic mass.

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 Example
When a sample of natural copper is vaporized and injected into a mass spectrometer, the results shown in Fig. 5-3 are
obtained. Use these data to compute the average mass of natural copper. (The mass values for 63Cu and 65Cu are 62.93
u and 64.93 u, respectively.)

Solution

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 Mole
✔ The mole is defined as the number equal to the number of carbon atoms in exactly 12 grams of pure 12C.

12 g of 12C = 6.022 × 1023 atoms of 12C (Also called Avogadro’s number)

✔ One mole of a substance contains 6.022 × 1023 units of that substance.

✔ A sample of a natural element with a mass equal to the element’s atomic mass expressed in grams contains 1 mole
of atoms.

Element Number of Atoms Present Mass of Sample (g)

Aluminum 6.022 × 1023 26.98
Copper 6.022 × 1023 63.55
Iron 6.022 × 1023 55.85
Sulfur 6.022 × 1023 32.07
Iodine 6.022 × 1023 126.9
Mercury 6.022 × 1023 200.6

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 Example
Americium is an element that does not occur naturally. It can be made in very small amounts in a device known as a
particle accelerator. Compute the mass in grams of a sample of americium containing six atoms.

Solution

Given: 1 mole Americium = 6.022x1023 atoms Americium = 243 g Americium

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 Molar Mass
✔ It is the mass of one mole of the compound measured in grams. Traditionally called molecular weight.
✔ Formula unit - Used for compounds that do not contain molecules. Example:

NaCl - Sodium chloride

CaCO3 - Calcium carbonate

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 Example
Juglone, a dye known for centuries, is produced from the husks of black walnuts. It is also a natural herbicide (weed
killer) that kills off competitive plants around the black walnut tree but does not affect grass and other noncompetitive
plants. The formula for juglone is C10H6O3.
a) Calculate the molar mass of juglone.
b) A sample of 1.56 × 10−2 g of pure juglone was extracted from black walnut husks. How many moles of juglone
does this sample represent?
Solution

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 Percent Composition of a Compound
⮚ In terms of the numbers of its constituent atoms
⮚ In terms of the percentages (mass) of its elements
⮚ Consider ethanol (C2H5OH)

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 Mass Percent
⮚ It is calculated by comparing the mass percent of the element in one mole of the compound with the total mass of
one mole of the compound and multiplying the result by 100%.

Example: Calculating the mass of carbon in ethanol

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 Example
Carvone is a substance that occurs in two forms having different arrangements of atoms but the same molecular
formula (C10H14O) and mass. One type of carvone gives caraway seeds their characteristic smell, and the other type is
responsible for the smell of spearmint oil. Compute the mass percent of each element in carvone.

Solution

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 Determining the Formula of a Compounds
⮚ Determined by using a weighed sample and one of the following techniques
✔ Decomposing it into its component elements
✔ Introducing oxygen to produce substances such as CO2, H2O, etc., which are collected and weighed

Analyzing for Carbon and Hydrogen

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 Empirical and Molecular Formula
⮚ Empirical formula (EF) - the simplest whole-number ratio of the various types of atoms in a compound. Can be
obtained from the mass percent of elements in a compound

⮚ The molecular formula (MF) varies for molecules and ions.

✔ For molecular substances, it is the formula of the constituent molecules. Always an integer multiple of the
empirical formula.
✔ For ionic substances, it is the same as the empirical formula

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 Steps in Empirical Formula Determination
1. Since mass percentage gives the number of grams of a particular element per 100 grams of compound, base the
calculation on 100 grams of compound. Each percent will then represent the mass in grams of that element.

2. Determine the number of moles of each element present in 100 grams of compound using the atomic masses of
the elements present
3. Divide each value of the number of moles by the smallest of the values. If each resulting number is a whole number
(after appropriate rounding), these numbers represent the subscripts of the elements in the empirical formula

4. If the numbers obtained in the previous step are not whole numbers, multiply each number by an integer so that
the results are all whole numbers

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 Example
Determine the empirical and molecular formulas for a compound that gives the following percentages on analysis (in
mass percents): 71.65% Cl, 24.27% C, 4.07% H. The molar mass is known to be 98.96 g/mol

Solution

Empirical Formula
CH2Cl
(48.47 g/mol)

Molecular Formula
C2H4Cl2
(48.47 g/mol)

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 Chemical Reactions
⮚ Involve the reorganization of atoms in one or more substances.
⮚ In a chemical equation, the reactants are situated on the left side of an arrow, and the products are located on the
right

• Bonds are broken and new bonds are formed

• Both sides possess the same number of atoms

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 Balancing Chemical Equation
✔ Atoms are neither created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction. The number of atoms on each side of the equation
must be the same.

Consider the reaction between methane and oxygen

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 Meaning of a Chemical Equation
❖ It contains information on: State Symbol
✔ The nature of the reactants and products Solid (s)
✔ The relative numbers of each Liquid (l)
❖ Equations also provide the physical state of the Gas (g)
reactants and products Dissolved in water (in aqueous solution) (aq)

Reactants Products
CH4 (g) + 2 O2(g) CO2 (g) + 2 H2O(g)
1 molecule + 2 molecules 1 molecule + 2 molecules
1 mol + 2 mol 1 mol + 2 mol
6.022 × 1023 molecules + 2 (6.022 × 1023 molecules) 6.022 × 1023 molecules + 2 (6.022 × 1023 molecules)
16 g + 2 (32 g) 44 g + 2 (18 g)
80 g reactants 80 g products

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 Steps in Balancing a Chemical Equation
Step 1. Start with the most complicated molecules.
Consider the following unbalanced equation

Step 2. The most complicated molecule is C2H5OH.

• Balancing carbon

• Balancing hydrogen

• Balancing oxygen

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 Steps in Balancing a Chemical Equation
Step 3. Verifying the
results

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 Example
Chromium compounds exhibit a variety of bright colors. When solid ammonium dichromate, (NH4)2Cr2O7, a vivid
orange compound, is ignited, a spectacular reaction occurs. Although the reaction is actually somewhat more complex,
let’s assume here that the products are solid chromium (III) oxide, nitrogen gas (consisting of N2 molecules), and water
vapor. Balance the equation for this reaction.

Solution

• The unbalanced equation is:

• Note that nitrogen and chromium are balanced (two nitrogen atoms and two chromium atoms on each side), but
hydrogen and oxygen are not. A coefficient of 4 for H2O balances the hydrogen atoms.

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 Stochiometric Calculations
Consider the following reaction between
propane and oxygen.

⮚ Calculating the number of moles of propane

present in 96.1 grams (the molar mass of
propane is 44.1).

⮚ Constructing a mole ratio

⮚ Calculating the moles of O2 needed

⮚ Calculating the number of grams oxygen

needed to burn 96.1 grams of propane. (the
molar mass of oxygen gas is 32.0).
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 Stochiometric Calculations
In order to determine the mass of carbon dioxide produced, conversion between moles of propane and moles of
carbon dioxide is required

⮚ Forming the mole ratio

⮚ The conversion is

⮚ Calculating the mass of CO2 produced using

the molar mass of CO2 (44.0 g/mol)

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 Problem-Solving Strategy - Calculating Masses of
Reactants and Products

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 Example
Solid lithium hydroxide is used in space vehicles to remove exhaled carbon dioxide from the living environment by
forming solid lithium carbonate and liquid water. What mass of gaseous carbon dioxide can be absorbed by 1.00 kg of
lithium hydroxide?

Solution

The balanced chemical equation:

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 Limiting Reactant
✔ Limiting reactant – is the reactant that is used the most,
limiting the quantity of the product formed.

• In this example, the number of sandwiches prepared has

been limited by the number of cheese slices, and the meats
as the limiting ingredient

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 Stoichiometric Mixture
Consider the reaction between nitrogen and
hydrogen, forming ammonia

⮚ Two molecules of ammonia possesses:

• 1 N2 molecule
• 3 H2 molecules

⮚ There are just enough molecules to ensure that all

are paired

⮚ A stoichiometric mixture is one that possesses

equivalent amounts of reactants that match the
numbers in the balanced equation

⮚ The presence and quantity of the limiting

reactant determines the amount of the product
formed

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 Determination of Limiting Reactant
Consider a reaction in which 25.0 kg of nitrogen is mixed with 5.0 kg of hydrogen to form ammonia. Identify the
limiting reactant.

Step 1. Determination of the moles of the

reactants.

Step 2. Calculating the total amount of

moles of H2 that react with 8.93×102
moles of N2

Also, 2.48 × 103 moles of H2 requires 8.27 × 102 moles of N2. Therefore, Nitrogen is in excess (8.93 × 102 moles).
Hydrogen is the limiting reactant.

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 Example
Nitrogen gas can be prepared by passing gaseous ammonia over solid copper (II) oxide at high temperatures. The other
products of the reaction are solid copper and water vapor. If a sample containing 18.1 g of NH3 is reacted with 90.4 g
of CuO, which is the limiting reactant? How many grams of N2 will be formed?

Solution

The balanced chemical equation:

Therefore, CuO is the limiting reactant

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 Theoretical Yield and Percent Yield
✔ Theoretical yield is the highest quantity of product that can be obtained from a given amount of limiting reactant
✔ Percent yield is the actual amount obtained. Less than theoretical yield

Problem-Solving Strategy
1. Write and balance the equation for the reaction
2. Convert the known masses of substances to moles
3. Determine which reactant is limiting
4. Using the amount of the limiting reactant and the appropriate mole ratios, compute the number of moles of the
desired product
5. Convert from moles to grams, using the molar mass

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 Problem-Solving Strategy - Problems Involving Masses
of Reactants and Products

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 Example
Methanol (CH3OH), also called methyl alcohol, is the simplest alcohol. It is used as a fuel in race cars and is a potential
replacement for gasoline. Methanol can be manufactured by combining gaseous carbon monoxide and hydrogen.
Suppose 68.5 kg CO(g) is reacted with 8.60 kg H2(g). Calculate the theoretical yield of methanol. If 3.57 × 104 g CH3OH
is actually produced, what is the percent yield of methanol?
Solution

The balanced chemical equation:

Therefore, H2 is the
limiting reactant

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