What is Stoichiometry?

These are relations between the amounts of reactants and products of a chemical reaction. In
general, it is the study of the quantities of reactants and products in a chemical reaction.
What is the basic law that governs the stoichiometry of a given chemical reaction?
Answer: It is the Law of Conservation of Mass since chemical reactions can neither create
nor destroy matter, and it is not possible to transform one element into another, the amount of
each element must be the same throughout the overall reaction.
What is Mole Method?
These are equations that are equally balanced when it comes to the number of atoms and
molecules in single reaction.
Some Important Key Terms:
Balanced Equation – a chemical equation with equal numbers of atoms for each element in the
reactant and product.
Reactant – a substance undergoing a chemical or physical change; shown on the left side of
the arrow in a chemical equation.
Product – a substance formed by a chemical or physical change; shown on the right side of the
arrow in a chemical equation.
Example:
Zn + 2HCl ZnCl2 + H2 (This equation is balanced because there is one Zinc, two Hydrogens,
and two Chlorines on each side).
Coefficient – a number placed in front of symbols or formulas in a chemical equation to indicate
their relative amount.
Chemical Equation – it is the symbolic representation of a chemical reaction.
Let’s have a delicious snack and treat it as a simple chemical equation???...

1 Hotdog + 1 Marshmallow + 1 Pineapple Chunk + 1 Stick =

1 Hotdog on a Stick with Marshmallow and Pineapple Chunk (Just as with a chemical equation, the
coefficients in front of the “reactants” and “products” show the proportions in which they react to produce the desired product – 1
Hotdog on a Stick with Marshmallow and Pineapple Chunk. So, to make 14 Hotdogs on a Stick with Marshmallow and Pineapple
Chunk, we would need 14 Hotdogs, 14 Marshmallows, 14 Pineapple Chunks, and 14 Sticks).

Limiting Reactant – the reactant is present in an amount lower than required by the reaction
stoichiometry, thus limiting the amount of product generated.
Excess Reactant – the reactant is present in an amount greater than required by the reaction
stoichiometry.
Mole – it has an amount of substance which is filled with the equal amount of atoms, molecules,
or particles.
 This is Amedeo Avogadro, an Italian scientist who introduced the Avogadro’s Number
which is equivalent to 6.022 x 1023
Atomic Mass – it is also known as atomic weight and considers the mass of a single atom in
the form of atomic mass unit or amu and 1 amu is the mass unit equivalent to the one-twelfth
mass of one atom of the Carbon-12 isotope. (Carbon-12 was selected as the reference element for calculating
atomic mass because it is naturally occurring and is present in abundance).

Molar Mass – it is defined as a substance where mass is equivalent to grams (1 mole) of

atoms, molecules, or even particles.
Measuring huge quantities of atoms and molecules contained in different samples is difficult, so,
they are measured in the SI system in terms of mole (mol).
Let’s have an example on how to calculate the molar mass of CaO (Calcium Oxide):
CaO = 1 Ca + 1 O
= 1 (40 g/mol) + 1 (16 g/mol), atomic mass of Calcium and Oxygen are found in the Periodic Table of Elements
= 56 g/mol
Coming up… Problem Solving!

Let’s start by solving for the Empirical Formula which tells us the whole number ratio of atoms in
a compound.
Sample Problem # 1
A compound is made up of 33.55% Sulfur, 64.37% Oxygen, and 2.08% Hydrogen. What is the
empirical formula?
Step 1: Change the percentages into grams and convert the amount of each element in moles.
33.55% - 33.55g S [1 mol S / 32g] = 1.05 moles of S
64.37% - 64.37g O [1 mol O / 16g] = 4.02 moles of O
2.08% - 2.08g H [1 mol H / 1g] = 2.08 moles of H
Step 2: Pick the smallest answer in moles from Step 1 and divide all the answers by that number
S = 1.05 / 1.05 = 1; O = 4.02 / 1.05 = 4; H = 2.08 / 1.05 = 2

Thus, the coefficients calculated in Step 2 will become the subscripts in the empirical formula which is
H2SO4 (Sulfuric Acid)
Now let’s talk about the Molecular Formula which is called the “true formula” for it indicates the actual
number of each atom in a compound.

Sample Problem # 2

The compound Caffeine has a mass percentage composition of 48.67% of Carbon; 5.20% of Hydrogen;
27.86% of Nitrogen; and 17.36% of Oxygen. The molar mass of Caffeine is 194.20 g/mol. What is the
molecular formula?

In this case, we have to determine the mass of your empirical formula (E.F.) by changing the percentage
to grams and divide it to their corresponding atomic mass. Next is to divide the number of moles to the
least number of moles. After determining the empirical formula, compute for the total molar mass, then
divide the given mass of caffeine to the total molar mass. The number computed then will be multiplied to
the number of atom of each element of the E.F.

48.67% - 48.67g C / 12 g /mol = 4.05 moles Divide by 1.09 = 3.715 or 4

5.20% - 5.20g H / 1 g /mol = 5.20 moles Divide by 1.09 = 4.77 or 5

27.86% - 27.86g N / 14 g /mol = 2 moles Divide by 1.09 = 1.834 or 2

17.36% - 17.36g O / 16 g /mol = 1.09 moles (least number of moles) Divide by 1.09 = 1

So, the empirical formula is C4 H5 N2 O and the molar mass is 48 + 5 + 28 + 16 = 97

Next, 194.20 g / 97 = 2, this means, the molecular formula is twice as much of the empirical formula
which makes it C8 H10 N4 O2 as your final molecular formula.
The key to all stoichiometry problems, whether the amounts are given in units of mass (grams) or
volume (liters) is converting amounts of substances to moles and vice versa.

Converting the mass in grams of a compound to the amount of mass in grams of another
compound can be divided into three basic parts:

Step 1: Mass A Mole A

Mass A / Molar Mass of Compound A = Moles of Compound A
Example: How many moles are present in 30g of Cu?
30g Cu / 64 g/mol = 0.469 mol; Note: 64g is the atomic mass of Copper (Cu)
Step 2: Mole A Mole B
Mole A x Moles B / Moles A = Moles of Compound B
Step 3: Mole B Mass B
Mole B x Molar Mass of Compound B = Mass of Compound B
Example: What is the mass of 0.375 mol of NO2?
0.375 mol NO2 x 46 g/mol = 17.3 g

Note: 46g was derived from the atomic mass of Nitrogen which is 1 x 14 g/mol and
Oxygen which is 2 x 16 g/mol, so 14 + 32 = 46
Sample Problem # 3
How many grams of Bromine can be produced from the decomposition of 30.0g of Silver Bromide to
Silver and Bromine?

The chemical equation would be… _AgBr _Ag + _Br2

BALANCE your chemical equations.
2AgBr 2Ag + Br2
Determine the known and unknown variables and their respective molar masses.
Given: mAgBr = 30.0g AgBr is Compound A MMAgBr = 188 g/mol
Find: mBr2 = ? Br2 is Compound B MMBr2 = 160 g/mol
Step 1: Mass [A] Mole [A]
30.0g / 188 g/mol = 0.160 mol AgBr
Step 2: Mole A Mole B
0.160 mol AgBr x 1 mol Br2 / 2 mol AgBr = 0.08 mol Br2
Step 3: Mole B Mass B
0.08 mol Br2 x 160 g/mol = 12.8 g Br2
Answer: mBr2 = 12.8 g Br2 This is the mass of Bromine needed to react completely with Silver Bromide
Limiting and Excess Reagents (or Reactants)
To simply illustrate this concept, I will level up my previous example of Hotdog on a Stick with
Marshmallow and Pineapple Chunk, now with additional slices of Cucumber. I will name my
product, H on a S with MPCC.
Now, 1 H on a S with MPCC will consist of:
1 Hotdog, 1 Marshmallow, 1 Pineapple Chunk, 3 slices of Cucumber, and 1 Stick.
If I have these available ingredients in my pantry, how many H on a S with MPCC can I make?
10 Hotdogs……………….. 10

9 Marshmallows…………. 9

8 Pineapple Chunks…….. 8

20 slices of Cucumber…… 6

9 Sticks……………………. 9
Out of these ingredients, I can only make 6 H on a S with MPCC and the 20 slices of Cucumber dictated it.

In Chemistry, the limiting reactants are those reactants (ingredients) that “dictate” the amount of products that will be
produced. The so called excess reactants are the remaining ingredients or reactants that will no longer be used in
making the products due to lack of other ingredients. Therefore, the excess reactants in my examples are 4 Hotdogs,
3 Marshmallows, 2 Pineapple Chunks, and 3 Sticks.

Sample Problem #4
2Mg + O2 2MgO
Given on this chemical reaction are 2g of Mg and 5g of O2, How many grams of MgO will be formed?
To do this, you need to convert both the masses of Mg and O2 to the mass of MgO
Determine the known [A] and unknown [B] variables and their corresponding molar masses.
Given: mMg = 2g Mg is Compound [A] MMMg = 24 g/mol
MO2 = 5g O2 is Compound [A] MMO2 = 32 g/mol
Find: mMgO = ? MgO is Compound [B] MMMgO = 40 g/mol
Reactant: Mg Reactant: O2

Step 1: Mass [A] Mole [A] Step 1: Mass [A] Mole [A]

2g Mg / 24 g/mol = 0.083 mol Mg 5g O 2 / 32 g/mol = 0.156 mol O2

Step 2: Mole A Mole B Step 2: Mole A Mole B

0.083 mol Mg x 2 mol MgO / 2 mol Mg = 0.083 mol MgO 0.156 mol O 2 x 2 mol MgO / 1 mol O2 = 0.312 mol
MgO

Step 3: Mole B Mass B Step 3: Mole B Mass B

0.083 mol MgO x 40 g/mol = 3.32 g MgO 0.312 mol MgO x 40 g/mol = 12.5 g MgO

Final Answer: 3.32g MgO will be formed based on this reaction.

Notice that Mg produces the least amount of MgO, therefore Mg is the Limiting Reactant and O2 is the Excess Reactant.