MODULE 4

STOICHIOMETRY
[Week 9-11]
I. INTRODUCTION

In this chapter, we will explore a number of concepts and skills that are important
in analytical chemistry. Although you have probably studied these topics in other
chemistry courses, you should find it fruitful to refresh these ideas in your mind before
proceeding. We will begin by presenting the SI units, the important distinction between
mass and weight, and the mole. We then investigate the numerous ways of expressing
solution concentration and present the basics of chemical stoichiometry. Lastly, a basic
approach to aqueous-solution chemistry including chemical equilibrium and simple
equilibrium constant calculations will be studied. This material is treated in most general
chemistry courses.

By the end of the lesson, you should be able to:

1. Determine the mass relationship between products and reactants.

2. Understand the chemical equation.
3. Calculate simple mass stoichiometry.

II. PRE-COMPETENCY CHECKLIST

Direction: Construct at least 10 possible words that can be made with the word
“Stoichiometry.” Example: met, storm, some, etc.

III. LEARNING RESOURCES

Necessary details for discussion were included in the module. Following are
supplementary resources available which you might access to gain further
understanding of the topic.

1. PowerPoint presentation converted to PDF.

IV. EXPLORE

STOICHIOMETRY

STOICHIOMETRY AND BALANCING REACTIONS

Stoichiometry is a section of chemistry that involves using relationships

between reactants and/or products in a chemical reaction to determine desired
quantitative data. In Greek, stoikhein means element and metron means measure, so
stoichiometry literally means “the measure of elements.” In order to use stoichiometry to
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run calculations about chemical reactions, it is important to first understand the
relationships that exist between products and reactants and why they exist, which
require understanding how to balance reactions.

BALANCING

In chemistry, chemical reactions are frequently written as an equation, using

chemical symbols. The reactants are displayed on the left side of the equation and the
products are shown on the right, with the separation of either a single or double arrow
that signifies the direction of the reaction. The significance of single and double arrow is
important when discussing solubility constants, but we will not go into detail about it in
this module. To balance an equation, it is necessary that there are the same numbers of
atoms on the left side of the equation as the right. One can do this by raising the
coefficients.

REACTANTS TO PRODUCTS

A chemical equation is like a recipe for a reaction so it displays all the ingredients
or terms of a chemical reaction. It includes the elements, molecules, or ions in the
reactants and in the products as well as their states, and the proportion for how much of
each particle is create relative to one another, through the stoichiometric coefficient.
The following equation demonstrates the typical format of a chemical equation:

2Na (s) + 2HCI (aq) 2NaCl (aq) + H2 (g)

In the above equation, the elements present in the reaction are represented by
their chemical symbols. Based on the Law of Conservation of Mass, which states that
matter is neither created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction, every chemical reaction
has the same elements in its reactants and products, though the elements they are
paired up with often change in a reaction. In this reaction, sodium (Na), hydrogen (H),
and chloride (Cl) are the elements present in both reactants, so based on the law of
conservation of mass, they are also present on the product side of the equations.
Displaying each element is important when using the chemical equation to convert
between elements.

STOICHIOMETRIC COEFFICIENTS

In a balanced reaction, both sides of the equation have the same number of
elements. The stoichiometric coefficient is the number written in front of atoms, ion and
molecules in a chemical reaction to balance the number of each element on both the
reactant and product sides of the equation. Though the stoichiometric coefficients can
be fractions, whole numbers are frequently used and often preferred. These
stoichiometric coefficients are useful since they establish the mole ratio between
reactants and products. In the balanced equation:

2Na (s) + 2HCI (aq) 2NaCl (aq) + H2 (g)

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 We can determine that 2 moles of HCI will react with 2 moles of Na (s) to form 2
moles of NaCl (aq) and 1 mole of H2 (g). If we know how many moles of Na we start out
with, we can use the ratio of 2 moles of NaCl to 2 moles of Na to determine how many
moles of NaCl were produced or we can use the ratio of 1 mole of H2 to 2 moles of Na
to convert to NaCl. This is known as the coefficient factor. The balanced equation
makes it possible to convert information about one reactant or product to quantitative
data about another element. Understanding this is essential to solving stoichiometric
problems.

Example 1

Lead (IV) hydroxide and sulfuric acid react as shown below. Balance the reaction.

Pb(OH)4 + H2SO4 Pb(SO4)2 + H2O

Solution

Start by counting the number of atoms of each element.

UNBALANCED

The reaction is not balanced; the reaction has 16 reactant atoms and only 14
product atoms and does not obey the conservation of mass principle. Stoichiometric
coefficients must be added to make the equation balanced. In this example, there are

Element Reactant (# of atoms) Reactant (# of atoms)

Pb 1 1
O 8 9
H 6 2
S 1 2

only one sulfur atom present on the reactant side, so a coefficient of 2 should be added
in front of H2SO4 to have an equal number of sulfur on both sides of the equation. Since
there are 12 oxygen on the reactant side and only 9 on the product side, a 4 coefficient
should be added in front of H2O where there is a deficiency of oxygen. Count the
number of elements now present on either side of the equation. Since the numbers are
the same, the equation is now balanced.
Pb(OH)4 + 2H2SO4 Pb(SO4)2 + 4H2O

BALANCED

Element Reactant (# of atoms) Reactant (# of atoms)

Pb 1 1
O 12 12
H 8 8
S 2 2

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 Balancing reactions involves finding least common multiples between numbers of
elements present on both sides of the equation. In general, when applying coefficients,
add coefficients to the molecules or unpaired elements last.
A balanced equation ultimately has to satisfy two conditions.
1. The numbers of each element on the left and right side of the equation must be
equal.
2. The charge on both sides of the equation must be equal. It is especially important
to pay attention to charge when balancing redox reactions.

TYPES OF REACTIONS

There are 6 basic types of reactions.

1. Combustion: Combustion is the formation of CO2 and H2O from the reaction of a
chemical and O2.
2. Combination (synthesis): Combination is the addition of 2 or more simple
reactants to form a complex product.
3. Decomposition: Decomposition is when complex reactants are broken down
into simpler products.
4. Single Displacement: Single displacement is when an element from on reactant
switches with an element of the other to form two new reactants.
5. Double Displacement: Double displacement is when two elements from on
reactants switched with two elements of the other to form two new reactants.
6. Acid-Base: Acid-base reactions are when two reactants form salts and water.

SOME IMPORTANT UNITS OF MEASUREMENT

SI UNITS
Scientists throughout the world are adopting a standardized system of units
known as the international system of units (SI). This system is based on the seven
fundamental base units shown in Table 1. Numerous other useful units, such as volts,
hertz, coulombs and joules are derived from these base units.

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 Prefixes are used with these base units and other derived units to express small
or large measured quantities in terms of a few simple digits. As shown in Table 2, these
prefixes multiply the unit by various power of ten.

Example: The wavelength of yellow radiation used for determining sodium by

flame photometry is about 5.9 x 10-7 m, which can be expressed more compactly as 590
nm (nanometers).

THE MOLE

The mole (mol) is the SI unit for amount of a chemical species. It is always
associated with a chemical formula and is Avogadro’s number (6.022 x 1023) of
particles represented by that formula. The molar mass (M) of a substance is the mass
in grams of one mole of the substance. Molar masses are calculated by summing the
atomic masses of all the elements appearing in a chemical formula.

MOLAR MASS

Avogadro’s number and the Mole

 The mole is represented by Avogadro’s number, which are 6.022 x 1023 atoms or
molecules per mol.
 The chemical changes observed in any reaction involve the rearrangement of
billions of atoms. It is impractical to try to count or visualize all these atoms, but
scientists need some way to refer to the entire quantity. They also need a way to
compare these numbers and relate them to the weights of the substances, which
they can measure and observe. The solution is the concept of the mole, which is
very important in quantitative chemistry.

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Avogadro’s number

 Amadeo Avogadro first proposed that the volume of a gas at a given pressure
and temperature is proportional to the number of atoms or molecules, regardless
of the type of gas. Although he did not determine the exact proportion, he is
credited for the idea.
 Avogadro’s number is a proportion that relates molar mass on an atomic scale to
physical mass on a human scale. Avogadro’s number is defined as the number
of elementary particles (molecules, atoms, compounds, etc.) per mole of a
substance. It is equal to 6.022 x 1023 mol-1 and is expressed as the symbol NA.
 Avogadro’s number is a similar concept to that of a dozen or a gross. A dozen
molecules is 12 molecules. A gross of molecules is 144 molecules. Avogadro's
number is 6.022 x 1023 molecules. With Avogadro’s number, scientists can
discuss and compare very large numbers, which is useful because substances in
everyday quantities contain very large numbers of atoms and molecules.

The Mole

 The mole (abbreviated mol) is the SI measure of quantity of a “chemical entity,”

such as atoms, electrons, or protons. It is defined as the amount of a substance
that contains as many particles as there are atoms in 12 grams of pure carbon-
12. So, 1 mol contains 6.022 x 1023 elementary entities of the substance.
 Avogadro's number is fundamental to understanding both the makeup of
molecules and their interactions and combinations. For example, since one atom
of oxygen will combine with two atoms of hydrogen to create one molecule of
water (H2O), one mole of oxygen (6.022 x 1023 of O atoms) will combine with two
moles of hydrogen (2 x 6.022 x 1023 of H atoms) to make one mole of H2O.
 Another property of Avogadro’s number is that the mass of one mole of a
substance is equal to that substance’s molecular weight. For example, the mean
molecular weight of water is 18.015 atomic mass units (amu), so one mole of
water weight 18.015 grams. This property simplifies many chemical
computations.

EXAMPLE: If you have 1.25 grams of a molecule with molecular weight of 134.1 g/mol,
how many moles of that molecule do you have?

Converting between Moles and Atoms

 By understanding the relationship between moles and Avogadro's number,

scientists can convert between number of moles and number of atoms.

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Moles and Atoms

 As introduced in the previous concept, the mole can be used to relate masses of
substances to the quantity of atoms therein. This is an easy way of determining
how much of one substance can react with a given amount of another substance.
 From moles of a substance, one can also find the number of atoms in a sample
and vice versa. The bridge between atoms and moles is Avogadro’s number,
6.022 x 1023.
 Avogadro’s number is typically dimensionless, but when it defines the mole, it
can be expressed as 6.022 x 1023 elementary entities/mol. This form shows the
role of Avogadro’s number as a conversion factor between the number of entities
and the number of moles. Therefore, given the relationship 1 mol = 6.022 x 107°
atoms, converting between moles and atoms of a substance becomes a simple
dimensional analysis problem.

Converting Moles to Atoms

 Given a known number of moles (x), one can find the number of atoms (y) in this
molar quantity by multiplying it by Avogadro’s number:

In six moles,

 Note that the solution is independent of whether the element is sodium or

otherwise.

Converting Atoms to Moles

 Reversing the calculation above, it is possible to convert a number of atoms to a

molar quantity by dividing it by Avogadro’s number:

 This can be written without a fraction in the denominator by multiplying the

number of atoms by the reciprocal of Avogradro’s number:

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  For example, if scientists know there are 3.5 x 1024 atoms in a sample, they can
calculate the number of moles this quantity represents:

Molar Mass of Compounds

 The molar mass of a particular substance is the mass of one mole of that
substance.

Measuring Mass in Chemistry

 Chemists can measure a quantity of matter using mass, but in chemical reactions
it is often important to consider the number of atoms of each element present in
each sample. Even the smallest quantity of a substance will contain billions of
atoms, so chemists generally use the mole as the unit for the amount of
substance.
 One mole (abbreviated mol) is equal to the number of atoms in 12 grams of
carbon-12; this number is referred to as Avogadro’s number and has been
measured as approximately 6.022 x 1023. In other words, a mole is the amount of
substance that contains as many entities (atoms, or other particles) as there are
atoms in 12 grams of pure carbon-12.

amu vs. g/mol

 Each ion, or atom, has a particular mass; similarly, each mole of a given pure
substance also has a definite mass. The mass of one mole of atoms of a pure
element in grams is equivalent to the atomic mass of that element in atomic
mass units (amu) or in grams per mole (g/mol). Although mass can be expressed
as both amu and g/mol, g/mol is the most useful system of units for laboratory
chemistry.

Calculating Molar Mass

 Molar mass is the mass of a given substance divided by the amount of that
substance, measured in g/mol. For example, the atomic mass of titanium is 47.88
amu or 47.88 g/mol. In 47.88 grams of titanium, there is one mole, or 6.022 x
1023 titanium atoms.
 The characteristic molar mass of an element is simply the atomic mass in g/mol.
However, molar mass can also be calculated by multiplying the atomic mass in
amu by the molar mass constant (1 g/mol). To calculate the molar mass of a
compound with multiple atoms, sum all the atomic mass of the constituent atoms.
 For example, the molar mass of NaCl can be calculated for finding the atomic
mass of sodium (22.99 g/mol) and the atomic mass of chlorine (35.45 g/mol) and
combining them. The molar mass of NaCl is 58.44 g/mol.

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Converting between Mass and Number of Moles

 A substance’s molar mass can be used to convert between the mass of the
substance and the number of moles in that substance.
 Chemists generally use the mole as the unit for the number of atoms or
molecules of a material. One mole (abbreviated mol) is equal to 6.022 x 1023
molecular entities (Avogadro’s number), and each element has a different molar
mass depending on the weight of 6.022 x 1023 of its atoms (1 mole). The molar
mass of any element can be determined by finding the atomic mass of the
element on the periodic table. For example, if the atomic mass of sulfur (S) is
32.066 amu, then its molar mass is 32.066 g/mol.
 By recognizing the relationship between the molar mass (g/mol), moles (mol),
and particles, scientists can use dimensional analysis convert between mass,
number of moles and number of atoms very easily.

Determining the Molar Mass of a Compound

 In a compound of NaOH, the molar mass of Na alone is 23 g/mol, the molar

mass of O is 16 g/mol and H is 1 g/mol. What is the molar mass of NaOH?

⁄ ⁄ ⁄ ⁄

 The molar mass of the compound NaOH is 40 g/mol.

Converting Mass to Number of Moles

 How many moles of NaOH are present in 90 g of NaOH?

 Since the molar mass of NaOH is 40 g/mol, we can divide the 90 g of NaOH by
the molar mass (40 g/mol) to find the moles of NaOH. This is the same as
multiplying by the reciprocal of 40 g/mol.
 If the equation is arranged correctly, the mass units (g) cancel out and leave
moles as the unit.

 There are 2.25 moles of NaOH in 90g of NaOH.

Converting Between Mass, Number of Moles, and Number of Atoms

 How many moles and how many atoms are contained in 10.0 g of nickel?
 According to the periodic table, the atomic mass of nickel (Ni) is 58.69 amu,
which means that the molar mass of nickel is 58.69 g/mol. Therefore, we can
divide 10.0 g of Ni by the molar mass of Ni to find the number of moles present.

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  Using dimensional analysis, it is possible to determine that:

 To determine the number of atoms, convert the moles of Ni to atoms using

Avogadro's number:

 Given a sample’s mass and number of moles in that sample, it is also possible to
calculate the sample’s molecular mass by dividing the mass by the number of
moles to calculate g/mol.
 What is the molar mass of methane (CH4) if there are 0.623 moles in a 10.0 g
sample?

 The molar mass of CHs is 16.05 g/mol.

Activity 4.1: Balancing Chemical Equation

Balance the following equations:

1. CO2 + H2O — C6H12O6 + O2

2. SiCl4 + H2O — H4SiO4 + HCI
3. Al + HCI — AICl3 + H2
4. C7H6O2 + O2 — CO2 + H2O
5. KCIO3 — KCIO4 + KCI
6. Ag (s) + H2S (g) + O2 (g) — Ag2S (s) + H2O (I)
7. P4 (s) + O2 (g) — P4O10 (s)
8. H2 (g) + I (s) — HI (s)
9. Fe (s) + O2 (g) — Fe2O3 (s)
10. P4 (s) + Cl2 (g) — PCl3 (I)

Activity 4.2:
Write a balanced molecular equation describing each of the following chemical
reactions.

a. Solid calcium carbonate is heated and decomposes to solid calcium oxide and
carbon dioxide gas.
b. Gaseous butane, C4H10, reacts with diatomic oxygen gas to yield gaseous
carbon dioxide and water vapor.

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 c. Aqueous solutions of magnesium chloride and sodium hydroxide react to
produce solid magnesium hydroxide and aqueous sodium chloride.
d. Water vapor reacts with sodium metal to produce solid sodium hydroxide and
hydrogen gas.

Activity 4.3:

1. Calculate the molecular mass of ethanol, whose condensed structural formula is

CH3CH2OH. Among its many uses, ethanol is a fuel for internal combustion
engines.
2. For 35.00 g of ethylene glycol (HOCH2CH2OH), which is used in inks for ballpoint
pens, calculate the number of moles and molecules.

V. DISCUSSION BOARD

Answer the following questions.

1. Describe the relationship between an atomic mass unit and a gram.

2. Why is mole concept important?
3. What is a real life example of stoichiometry?

VI. POST-COMPETENCY CHECKLIST

Write a balanced equation describing each of the following chemical reactions.

1. A novel process for obtaining magnesium from sea water involves several
reactions. Write a balanced chemical equation for each step of the process.
a. The first step is the decomposition of solid calcium carbonate from
seashells to form solid calcium oxide and gaseous carbon dioxide.
b. The second step is the formation of solid calcium hydroxide as the only
product from the reaction of the solid calcium oxide with liquid water.
c. Solid calcium hydroxide is then added to the seawater, reacting with
dissolved magnesium chloride to yield solid magnesium hydroxide and
aqueous calcium chloride.
d. The solid magnesium hydroxide is added to a hydrochloric acid solution,
producing dissolved magnesium chloride and liquid water.
e. Finally, the magnesium chloride is melted and electrolyzed to yield liquid
magnesium metal and diatomic chlorine gas.

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