Unit 2

Chemical Reactions and

Reaction Stoichiometry

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 Stoichiometry
• Area of study that examines the quantities of
substances consumed and produced in chemical
reactions
• Based on the Law of Conservation of Mass
(Antoine Lavoisier, 1789)

“We may lay it down as an

incontestable axiom that, in all the
operations of art and nature, nothing
is created; an equal amount of matter
exists both before and after the
experiment. Upon this principle, the
whole art of performing chemical
experiments depends.”
—Antoine Lavoisier
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 Chemical Equations
• Chemical equations are how chemists represent
chemical reactions on paper.
• Arrows separate the starting materials (on the left),
called reactants, from the ending materials (on
the right), called products.
• “+” separates multiple starting or ending materials.

Stoichiometry

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 Balancing Equations
• Follow the Law of Conservation of Mass, but how?
• Start with an element that is only in one reactant and
product (C below).
• Balance it by changing coefficients, NOT subscripts. (Like in
math, a “1” is not written, but it is assumed.)
• Move on to other elements, without changing coefficients
that are set, until complete, checking all elements at the
end (H, then O here; totals below).

Stoichiometry

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 Why Do We Add Coefficients Instead of
Changing Subscripts to Balance?

• Hydrogen and oxygen can make water OR hydrogen

peroxide
– 2 H2(g) + O2(g) → 2 H2O(l)
– H2(g) + O2(g) → H2O2(l)
• We don’t change the formula because we don’t
Stoichiometry
drink hydrogen peroxide.
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 Other Symbols in Chemical Equations
CH4(g) + 2O2(g) Δ CO2(g) + 2H2O(g)

The states of matter for the reactants and products

are often written in parentheses to the right of each
formula or symbol.
(g) = gas; (l) = liquid; (s) = solid;
Stoichiometry
(aq) = dissolve in aqueous (water) solution
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 Other Symbols in Chemical Equations
CH4(g) + 2O2(g) Δ CO2(g) + 2H2O(g)

Other symbols can be used to represent conditions

during the chemical reaction. One example is the
use of Δ over the reaction arrow, which means heat
is needed for the reaction to take place.
Stoichiometry

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 Simple Patterns of Chemical Reactivity

• Types of reactions, which can be predicted

at this point
– Combination reactions
– Decomposition reactions
– Combustion reactions
– Single displacement reactions
– Double displacement reactions

Stoichiometry

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 Combination Reactions

• In a combination reaction, two or more

substances react to form one product.

Stoichiometry

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 Combination Reaction Predictions:
Metal and Nonmetal
• You should be able to predict the product of
a combination reaction between a metal
and a nonmetal, like the one below. (Hint:
Remember common charges for Groups!)

Stoichiometry

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 Decomposition Reactions

• In a decomposition
reaction one substance
breaks down into two or
more substances.
• In the air bag, solid
sodium azide releases
nitrogen gas quickly.

Stoichiometry

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 Decomposition Reaction Predictions:
Heating a Metal Carbonate
• Metal carbonates decompose when heated
to give off carbon dioxide and a metal oxide.
• Balancing these equations is based on the
charge of the metal.

Δ
CaCO3(s) CaO(s) + CO2(g)

Stoichiometry

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 Combustion Reactions

• Combustion reactions
are rapid reactions that
produce a flame.
• Combustion reactions
most often involve
oxygen in the air as a
reactant.

Stoichiometry

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 Combustion Reaction Predictions

• When burning compounds with C and H in

them, the products are CO2 and H2O.

C3H8(g) + 5 O2(g) 3 CO2(g) + 4 H2O(g)

Stoichiometry

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 Single Displacement Reactions
• The ion is displaced (replaced) in solution.
(Mg replaces H+ below.)

Stoichiometry

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 Activity Series and Hydrogen

• The elements
above hydrogen
will react with
acids to produce
hydrogen gas.
Elements below
will NOT react!
• A reactive metal is
oxidized to a
cation.
Stoichiometry

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 Single Displacement Reactions

• Elements higher on the activity series are more

reactive.
• They will exist as ions.
• The element below will exist as the element. Stoichiometry
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 Double Displacement Replacement
• Ions in two compounds “change partners”

• Cation of one compound combines with

anion of the other

AB + CD 🡪 AD + CB
Stoichiometry
C. Johannesson
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 Double Displacement Replacement
Pb(NO3)2(aq) + K2CrO4(aq) → PbCrO4(s) + 2KNO3(aq)

Stoichiometry
C. Johannesson
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 Double Displacement Reactions
Predict Products

• switch negative ions

• one product must be insoluble (check
solubility table), or gas, or covalent
compounds like H2O
PbI2(s)+ KNO3(aq)

NaNO3(aq)+ KI(aq) → N.R.

Stoichiometry
C. Johannesson
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 Formula Weight (FW)
• A formula weight is the sum of the atomic
weights for the atoms in a chemical formula.
• This is the quantitative significance of a formula.
• For an element like sodium, Na, the formula
weight is the atomic weight (23.0 amu).
• For an ionic compound, use the empirical formula.
• The formula weight of sulfuric acid, H2SO4,
would be
– 2(AW of H) + 1(AW of S) + 4(AW of O)
– 2(1.0 amu) + 32.1 amu + 4(16.0 amu)
– FW (H2SO4) = 98.1 amu Stoichiometry

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 Molecular Weight (MW)
• If the substance is a molecule, the formula weight
is also called its molecular weight.
• A molecular weight is the sum of the atomic
weights of the atoms in a molecule.
• For glucose, which has a molecular formula of
C6H12O6, the molecular weight is
– 6(AW of C) + 12(AW of H) + 6(AW of O)
– 6(12.0 amu) + 12(1.0 amu) + 6(16.0 amu)
– MW (C6H12O6) = 180.0 amu

Stoichiometry

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 Percent Composition

One can find the percentage of the mass of a

compound that comes from each of the elements
in the compound by using this equation:

(number of atoms)(atomic weight)

% Element = × 100
(FW of the compound)

Stoichiometry

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 Percent Composition

So the percentage of carbon in glucose is:

(6)(12.0 amu)
%C =
(180.0 amu)
72.0 amu
= × 100
180.0 amu
= 40.0%

Stoichiometry

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 Avogadro’s Number

• In a lab, we cannot work

with individual molecules.
They are too small.
• One mole (abbreviated:
mol) is the amount of
particles found in exactly
12 g of C-12.
• 6.02 × 1023 atoms or
molecules is the number
of particles in one mole.
Stoichiometry

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 Molar Mass
• A molar mass is the
mass of 1 mol of a
substance (i.e., g/mol).
• The molar mass of an
element is the atomic
weight for the element
from the periodic table.
If it is diatomic, it is twice
that atomic weight.
• The formula weight (in
amu) will be the same
number as the molar
Stoichiometry
mass (in g/mol).
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 Mole Relationships

• One mole of atoms, ions, or molecules contains Avogadro’s

number of those particles.
• The number of atoms of an element in a mole is the
subscript in a formula (number of atoms of that element in
the formula) times Avogadro’s number. Stoichiometry

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 Converting Amounts

• Moles provide a bridge from the molecular scale to the

real-world scale.
• Using equalities, we can convert from mass to atoms
or from atoms to mass.
• How many atoms in 3 g of copper (Cu)?
• 3 g Cu x (1 mol Cu/63.5 g Cu) x
(6.02 x 1023 atoms/1 mol Cu) = 3 x 1022 atoms
Stoichiometry

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 Determining Empirical Formulas

One can determine the empirical formula

from the percent composition by following
these three steps.

Stoichiometry

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 Determining Empirical Formulas—
an Example
The compound para-aminobenzoic acid
(you may have seen it listed as PABA on
your bottle of sunscreen) is composed of
carbon (61.31%), hydrogen (5.14%),
nitrogen (10.21%), and oxygen (23.33%).
Find the empirical formula of PABA.

Stoichiometry

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 Determining Empirical Formulas—
an Example
Assuming 100.00 g of para-aminobenzoic acid and
converting to moles:
1 mol
C: 61.31 g × = 5.105 mol C
12.01 g
1 mol
H: 5.14 g × 1.01 g = 5.09 mol H
1 mol
N: 10.21 g × 14.01 g = 0.7288 mol N
1 mol
O: 23.33 g × 16.00 g = 1.456 mol O

Stoichiometry

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 Determining Empirical Formulas—
an Example
Calculate the mole ratio by dividing by the smallest
number of moles:
5.105 mol
C: = 7.005 ≈ 7
0.7288 mol

5.09 mol
H: = 6.984 ≈ 7
0.7288 mol

0.7288 mol
N: = 1.000
0.7288 mol

1.458 mol
O: = 2.001 ≈ 2
0.7288 mol Stoichiometry

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 Determining Empirical Formulas—
an Example
These are the subscripts for the empirical formula:

C7H7NO2

Stoichiometry

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 Determining a Molecular Formula

• Remember, the number of atoms in a

molecular formula is a multiple of the
number of atoms in an empirical formula.
• If we find the empirical formula and know
a molar mass (molecular weight) for the
compound, we can find the molecular
formula.

Stoichiometry

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 Determining a Molecular Formula—
an Example
• The empirical formula of a compound was
found to be CH. It has a molar mass of
78 g/mol. What is its molecular formula?
• Solution:
C + H = 1(12) + 1(1) = 13
Whole-number multiple = 78/13 = 6
The molecular formula is C6H6.

Stoichiometry

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 Combustion Analysis

• Compounds containing C, H, and O are routinely analyzed

through combustion in a chamber.
– Mass of C is determined from the mass of CO2 produced.
– Mass of H is determined from the mass of H2O produced.
– Mass of O is determined by the difference of the mass of the
compound used and the total mass of C and H.
– Note: The mass of O in the compound can NOT be
determined from CO2 and H2O because oxygen is
Stoichiometry
added during the combustion.
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 Combustion Analysis

• Mass of C is determined from the mass of CO2 produced.

Stoichiometry

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 Combustion Analysis

• Mass of H is determined from the mass of H2O produced.

Stoichiometry

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 Quantitative Information from a
Balanced Equation

• The coefficients in the balanced equation show

– Relative numbers of molecules of reactants and
products
– Relative numbers of moles of reactants and
Stoichiometry
products, which can be converted to mass
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 Stoichiometric Calculations

• We have already seen in this chapter how to convert from

grams to moles or moles to grams.
• The new calculation is how to compare two different
materials, using the mole ratio from the balanced equation.
• The mole ratio comes from the coefficients in the balanced
equation.

Stoichiometry

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An Example of a Stoichiometric Calculation

• How many grams of water can be produced

from 1.00 g of glucose?
C6H12O6(s) + 6 O2(g) → 6 CO2(g) + 6 H2O(l)
• There is 1.00 g of glucose to start.
• The first step is to convert it to moles.
Stoichiometry

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An Example of a Stoichiometric Calculation

• The new calculation is to convert moles of one

substance in the equation to moles of another
substance.
• The mole ratio comes from the coefficients in the
balanced equation.
Stoichiometry

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An Example of a Stoichiometric Calculation

• In the last step, moles of water is converted to

grams of water.
• This gives the answer we wanted.
• You can do each step separately OR you can
do them in one calculation, as seen above.
Stoichiometry

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 Heat and Stoichiometry

• Heat does NOT appear in a balanced

equation.
• However, in Chapter 5 we will see how
amounts of heat are related to a balanced
equation.
• Those amounts depend on stoichiometry
as well.

Stoichiometry

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 Limiting Reactants
• The limiting reactant is the reactant present in
the smallest stoichiometric amount.
– In other words, it is the reactant you will run
out of first (in this case, the H2).

Stoichiometry

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 Limiting Reactants
In the example below, the O2 would be the
excess reagent.

Stoichiometry

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 Limiting Reactants
• The limiting reactant is used in all stoichiometry
calculations to determine amounts of products
that are produced and amounts of any other
reactant(s) that are used in a reaction.

Stoichiometry

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 Theoretical Yield

• The theoretical yield is the maximum

amount of product that can be made.
– In other words, it is the amount of product
possible as calculated through the
stoichiometry problem.
• This is different from the actual yield,
which is the amount one actually produces
and measures.

Stoichiometry

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 Percent Yield

One finds the percent yield by comparing

the amount actually obtained (actual yield)
to the amount it was possible to make
(theoretical yield):

actual yield
Percent yield = × 100
theoretical yield

Stoichiometry

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