General Chemistry

1
Stoichiometry

Module 002 : Stoichiometry

Starting from this module, you would be dealing with a lot of chemical
reactions and equations all throughout this course. That is why it is very
important that you are equipped with one of the essential tools in chemistry.
Stoichiometry is the quantitative study of reactants and products in a
chemical reaction. This would be the focus of this module but before we
delve into the world of chemical reactions, we must first understand several
concepts including atomic mass, the mole, molar mass and molecular
formula.
At the end of this module, you will be able to:
1. know how atomic mass of elements are determined
2. understand the concept of Avogadro’s number and the mole
3. determine a molecule’s or compound’s molar mass
4. convert between grams, moles and number of atoms or molecules
5. calculate the percent composition by mass or mass percent of each
element in a compound
6. apply mass percent information to calculate the amount of an element in
a given amount of compound
7. determine a compound’s empirical formula
8. determine a compound’s molecular formula
9. use chemical formulas to write equations representing chemical reactions
10. balance chemical equations
11. understand stoichiometric relationships of entities in a chemical equation
12. determine how much reactants are needed to prepare a known amount of
product
13. predict the amount of products formed in a chemical reaction
14. identify a reaction’s limiting and excess reactant
15. determine a reaction’s percent yield

Atomic Mass and Molecular Mass

Atoms are extremely small particles and enormous number of atoms is
needed for a sample to be visible to the naked eye. The mass of an atom is
therefore extremely small that it would be cumbersome to express their
masses in grams so we use the atomic mass unit instead. The mass of an atom
depends on the number of electrons, proton and neutrons it contains. By
international agreement, atomic mass or atomic weight is the mass of the
atom in atomic mass units (amu), where 1 amu is defined as a mass exactly
equal to one-twelfth of the mass of one carbon-12 atom. Carbon-12 is the
carbon isotope that has six protons and six neutrons. Setting the atomic mass

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 of carbon-12 at 12 amu provides the standard for measuring the atomic mass
of the other elements.

Average Atomic Mass

Most naturally occurring elements have more than one isotope. To determine
the atomic mass of these elements, we take the average mass of the naturally
occurring mixture of isotopes. In the case of carbon, the natural abundances
of its isotopes are 98.90% for Carbon-12 and 1.10% for Carbon-13. The
atomic mass of carbon-13 has been determined to be 13.00335 amu. Thus,
the average atomic mass of carbon can be calculated as follows:
Average atomic mass
of natural carbon = (0.9890)(12.00000 amu) + (0.0110)(13.00335 amu)
= 12.01 amu

In the periodic table, you will find that the atomic mass of carbon is 12.01
amu.

Example 1: Gallium, Ga, has two naturally occurring isotopes: 69Ga with an
atomic mass of 68.926 amu and 71Ga with an atomic mass of 70.926 amu.
Percent abundances of the two isotopes are 60.15% and 39.85%
respectively. Find the average atomic mass for Gallium.

Solution:
Average atomic mass of Ga = (0.6015)(68.926 amu) + (0.3985)(70.926 amu)
= 69.723 amu

Avogadro’s Number and the Mole Concept

The atomic mass unit provides a scale for comparing relative masses of
atoms. However, we deal with macroscopic samples containing enormous
number of atoms in reality. Chemists use the fundamental SI unit for amount
called a mole (mol.). The mole is the amount of a substance containing the
same number of objects as there are atoms in exactly 12 grams of Carbon-12.
This number has been experimentally determined to be 6.0221367 × 10 23.
This number is called Avogadro’s number (NA), in honor of the Italian
scientist Amedeo Avogadro.

By defining a mole in this way, an element’s average atomic mass will be

identical to its molar mass. A single atom of carbon-12 has an atomic mass of
12 amu and a mole of carbon-12 has a molar mass of exactly 12 g.

Example 2. How many moles of Zn is in a 12.00 g sample? To covert the

given mass of sample to moles, we will be using the molar mass of Zn which
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Stoichiometry

is numerically equal to its atomic mass. In the periodic table, the atomic mass
of Zn is 65.39 amu. Therefore, its molar mass is 65.39 g/mol.
1 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑍𝑛
12 𝑔 𝑍𝑛 × = 0.18 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑍𝑛
65.39𝑔𝑍 𝑛

Molecular Mass
The molecular mass (or molecular weight) is the sum of the atomic masses in
the molecule. To get the molecular mass, we need to multiply the atomic
mass of each element by the number of atoms of that element present in the
molecule and take the summation. For example, the molecular mass of silicon
dioxide, SiO2, is
Atomic mass of Si + 2(atomic mass of O) or 28.09 amu + 2(16.00 amu) =
60.09 amu

From the molecular mass, we can determine the molar mass of a molecule or
compound. The molar mass of a compound in grams is numerically equal to
its molecular mass in amu. Therefore, the molar mass of SiO2 is 60.09 grams.
Now that we know this relationship, we can now calculate the number of
moles and individual atoms in a given quantity of a compound.

Example 3: Glucose is a simple sugar with the molecular formula C6H12O6. In

50.00 grams of glucose, calculate for (1) the moles of glucose, (2) number of
molecules of glucose and (3) the number of atoms of oxygen in the sample:

Solution: First, we need to calculate for the molar mass of glucose:

Molar Mass = 6(12.01 g/mol) + 12(1.01 g/mol) + 6(16.00 g/mol) = 180.18

g/mol
Then, we’ll use the molar mass to compute for the number of moles of
glucose:
1 𝑚𝑜𝑙
𝑛𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝐺𝑙𝑢 = 50.00 𝑔 𝐺𝑙𝑢 × = 0.278 𝑚𝑜𝑙
180.18 𝑔
We will then use the Avogadro’s number to get the number of molecules of
glucose:
6.02 × 1023 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑠
𝑁𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝐺𝑙𝑢 = 0.278 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝐺𝑙𝑢 ×
1 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝐺𝑙𝑢
= 1.67 × 1023

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 Finally, to know the number of Oxygen atoms in the sample,
6 𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑂
𝑁𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑂 𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑠 = 1.67 × 1023 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐺𝑙𝑢 ×
1 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑒 𝐺𝑙𝑢
= 10.01 × 1023 O atoms
Example 4. Paracetamol, or acetaminophen, is a drug used to treat pain and
fever. Its molecular formula is C8H9NO2. Determine the number of Carbon
atoms in 500 g of paracetamol.
As in the previous example, we first calculate the molar mass of paracetamol
then follow the conversion steps needed to arrive to the answer.
Molar Mass = 8(12.01 g/mol) + 9(1.01 g/mol) + 1(14.01 g/mol) + 2(16.00
g/mol)
= 151.18 g/mol

𝑛𝑜. 𝑜𝑓𝐶 𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑠 𝐶8 𝐻9 𝑁𝑂2

1 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝐶8 𝐻9 𝑁𝑂2 8 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝐶
= 500.00 𝑔 × ×
151.18 𝑔𝐶8 𝐻9 𝑁𝑂2 1 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝐶8 𝐻9 𝑁𝑂2
23
6.02 × 10 𝐶 𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑠
×
1 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝐶
= 159.28 × 1023 C atoms

Formula Mass
In the case of ionic compounds that do not containing discrete molecular
units, the term formula mass is used instead of molecular mass. Example of
this is NaCl. The formula unit NaCl consists of one Na+ ion and one Cl- ion. The
formula mass of NaCl is the mass of one formula unit:

Formula mass of NaCl = 22.99 amu + 35.45 amu = 58.44 amu

Thus, the molar mass of NaCl is 58.44 grams.

Percent composition of Compounds

The percent composition by mass, or simply mass percent, is the percent by
mass of each element in a compound. Mathematically, the percent
composition of an element in a compound is expressed as
𝐸𝑞. 1: 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑛 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡
= (𝑛
× 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑛 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡)/(𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑)
× 100%

Where n is the number of moles of the element in 1 mole of the compound.

Using this equation, let us try to get the percent composition of glucose.
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Stoichiometry

Earlier, we determined the molar mass of glucose to be 180.24 g/mol. We can

then compute for its percent composition as follows:

6×12.01𝑔 𝐶
%𝐶 = 180.24 𝑔 𝐶 × 100% = 40.0%
6 𝐻12 𝑂6
12×1.01𝑔 𝐻
%𝐻 = 180.24 𝑔 𝐶 × 100% = 6.7%
6 𝐻12 𝑂6
6×16.00𝑔 𝑂
%𝑂 = 180.24 𝑔 𝐶 × 100% = 53.3%
6 𝐻12 𝑂6

We would arrive at the same results if we use the empirical formula of

glucose which is CH2O. If we reverse the procedure, we can also determine
the empirical formula of the compound given its percent composition by
mass. Let us take a look at the example below.
Example 5: Find the empirical formula of ibuprofen with percent
composition 75.69% C, 8.80% H, 15.51% O.
Solution: The mass percent for carbon, hydrogen and oxygen add up to
100%. If we assume a 100 gram sample, then we have 75.69 g of C, 8.80 g of
H, 15.51 g of O. Using their molar mass, we can now calculate for the moles of
each element. Let n represent the number of moles of each element so that

1 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝐶
𝑛𝐶 = 75.69 𝑔 𝐶 × = 6.30 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝐶
12.01 𝑔 𝐶
1 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝐻
𝑛𝐻 = 8.80 𝑔 𝐻 × = 8.71 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝐻
1.01 𝑔 𝐻
1 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑂
𝑛𝑂 = 15.51 𝑔 𝑂 × = 0.97 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑂
16.00 𝑔 𝑂
Based on these molar ratios, we arrive at the formula C6.30H8.71O0.97. However,
chemical formulas are written with whole numbers. We can do this by
dividing all the subscript by the smallest subscript:
6.30 8.71 0.97
𝐶: = 6.50 𝐻: = 8.98~9.00 𝑂: = 1.00
0.97 0.97 0.97
This gives us C6.50H9O. Next, we need to multiply all of the subscript with a
number that would make the subscript of C into a whole number. This can be
done by trial and error. In this case, we can multiply all of the subscript by 2.
Final empirical formula for this compound is C13H18O2.
From the percent composition by mass, we can only get the empirical
formula of a compound since subscripts are always reduced to the smallest
whole numbers. An empirical formula tells us the relative amounts of each
element in a compound. The actual molecular formula could be the same as
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 the empirical formula or its integral multiple. To determine the actual
molecular formula, we have to know the approximate molar mass of the
compound.
Example 6.Eugenol gives the distinct aroma of cloves. Analysis of 2.00 g
sample shows that it contains 1.46 g C, 0.15 g H and 0.39 g O. Independent
analysis shows that eugenol has a molar mass of 164.22 grams. Find its
molecular formula.
Solution: The total mass of C, H and O is the same as the mass of the sample.
This implies that eugenol contains only these elements. First, we have to
convert the masses of the elements to moles:
1 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝐶
𝑛𝐶 = 1.46 𝑔 𝐶 × = 0.122 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝐶
12.01 𝑔 𝐶
1 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝐻
𝑛𝐻 = 0.15 𝑔 𝐻 × = 0.149 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝐻
1.01 𝑔 𝐻

1 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑂
𝑛𝑂 = 0.39 𝑔 𝑂 × = 0.024 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑂
16.00 𝑔 𝑂

This gives us the formula C0.12H0.15O0.02. Dividing the subscripts with the
smallest one gives the empirical formula C5H6O.
0.122 0.146 0.024
𝐶: = 5.07 𝐻: = 6.09 𝑂: = 1.00
0.024 0.024 0.024

The apparent molar mass of this is:

Molar Mass C5H6O = 5(12.01 g/mol) + 6(1.01 g/mol) + 16.00 g/mol = 82.11
g/mol. Dividing the actual molar mass by the apparent molar mass gives us 2.
This tells us that eugenol has 2 units of C5H6O. Therefore, the molecular
formula of this compound is C10H12O2.
𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑀𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠 164.22 𝑔/𝑚𝑜𝑙
= =2
𝐴𝑝𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑀𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠 82.11 𝑔/𝑚𝑜𝑙

Chemical reactions and chemical equations

A chemical reaction is a process in which a substance or substances is
transformed into one or more new substances. To represent chemical
reactions in a concise and universally recognized manner, we use chemical
equations. A chemical equation uses chemical symbols to show what happens
during a chemical reaction.
To illustrate, let us take a look at the chemical equation for combustion of
ethane, CH4. When ethane is burned, it reacts with oxygen to produce carbon
dioxide, CO2 and water, H2O. Symbolically, we represent this reaction as:
CH4(g) + 2O2(g)→CO2(g) + 2H2O(l)
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Stoichiometry

where the plus sign means “reacts with” and the underlined numbers are the
stoichiometric coefficients. Species on the left-hand side of the arrow are the
reactants and those on the right-hand side are the products. The physical
states of reaction species are also commonly stated in parentheses after the
chemical symbols. To indicate the physical state, (s) is used to denote solids,
(l) for liquids, (g) for gases, and (aq) for aqueous solutions.

Balancing Chemical Equations

Before we proceed to balancing chemical equations, it is important to review
first the law of conservation of mass and Dalton’s atomic theory.
The law of conservation of mass states that mass in an isolated system is
neither created nor destroyed by chemical reactions or physical
transformations. This discovery of Antoine Lavoisier led to many new
findings, one of which is John Dalton’s hypotheses for the existence of atoms:
“In a chemical reaction the elements making up compounds rearrange to
make new compounds. The atoms making up these compounds, however, are
not destroyed, nor are new atoms created.” This means that for every
element present in the reactants, an equal amount of that element must be
present in the products.
Let us account for all the atoms in the unbalanced equation below:
CH4(g) + O2(g)→CO2(g) + H2O(l)

No of atoms in No of atoms in
Element
reactants Products

C 1 1

H 4 2

O 2 3

We can see that number of atoms of H and O are not conserved in the
chemical equation above. The reaction is unbalanced. To balance it, we need
to add coefficients to the reaction species.
CH4(g) + 2O2(g)→CO2(g) + 2H2O(l)
By adding coefficients to O2 and H2O, each element has now the same number
of atoms in the reactants and products.

No of atoms in No of atoms in
Element
reactants Products

C 1 1

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 H 4 4

O 4 4

Balancing equations is mostly a trial and error process but in general, we can
do it by following these steps:
1. Try different coefficients to make the number of atoms of each
element the same on both side of the equation. The common
convention for balanced equations is to use the smallest whole
numbers. Note that we can only change the coefficients (numbers
preceding the formula) but not the subscripts. Doing so would change
the identity of the substance. Also, new products or reactants could
not be added to the equation.
2. Balance first those elements that appear in only one reactant and one
product.
3. Then, balance elements that appear in more than one reactant and
product. Try to add coefficients first to those species that has not yet
been assigned a coefficient before adjusting those that already have
coefficients.
4. If present, balance the simplest compounds (pure elements and
diatomic molecules) last.
5. Check the equation to make sure that all elements have the same
number of atoms on both sides.
Let us try to write and balance the chemical equation for the oxidation of the
mineral pyrite, FeS2. Reaction of FeS2 with O2 gives Fe2O3 and SO2 as
products. The chemical equation would be:

FeS2+ O2→ Fe2O3 + SO2

In the equation, the elements that appear only once in both sides are Fe and S
so we begin by balancing these elements.

First, balance Fe:

2FeS2+ O2→ Fe2O3 + SO2

then S:
2FeS2+ O2→ Fe2O3 + 4SO2

At this stage, we only need to balance O. On the left side, we have 2 atoms of
O and on the left side we have 11 so we should adjust the coefficient of O2 on
the left side:
2FeS2+ 11/2O2→ Fe2O3 + 4SO2
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Stoichiometry

The equation is now balanced. However, the coefficients should be a whole

number. To do this, we need to multiply all the coefficients to 2 to convert
11/2 to 11.
4FeS2+ 11O2→ 2Fe2O3 + 8SO2

Mass Relationships in Chemical Reactions

Now that we know how to balance chemical equations, we can now use our
knowledge of the mole concept and molar masses to calculate the amount of
product that will be formed in a reaction using specific amounts of reactants
or to calculate how much of the reactants are needed to produce a specific
amount of product. This is the study of stoichiometry. The stoichiometric
coefficients in a chemical equation can be interpreted as the number of moles
of each substance. To illustrate, let us take a look at the reaction below:
Fe2O3 + 3C → 2Fe + 3CO

From the equation, we can deduce that 1 mole of Fe2O3 reacts with 3 moles of
C to produce 2 moles of Fe and 3 moles of CO.

Example 7: Suppose that 50 g of Fe2O3 completely reacts with C to produce

Fe and CO. How many grams of Fe will be formed?
Solution: To calculate this, we have to do the following conversion steps:
Grams of Fe2O3→ moles of Fe2O3 →moles of Fe→ grams of Fe
First, we convert 50.0 g of Fe2O3 to moles of Fe2O3:

1 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝐹𝑒2 𝑂3
𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐹𝑒2 𝑂3 = 50.0 𝑔 𝐹𝑒2 𝑂3 × = 0.313
159.69𝑔𝐹𝑒2 𝑂3

Then, we calculate the number of moles of Fe produced. Note that from the
equation, we can deduce that 1 mole of Fe2O3 produces 2 moles of Fe:

2 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝐹𝑒
𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐹𝑒 = 0.3 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝐹𝑒2 𝑂3 × = 0.626 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝐹𝑒
1 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝐹𝑒2 𝑂3

Lastly, we calculate for the mass of Fe produced:

55.845 𝑔 𝐹𝑒
𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐹𝑒 = 0.6 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝐹𝑒 × = 35.0 𝑔 𝐹𝑒
1 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝐹𝑒
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These three steps can be combined as follows:

1 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝐹𝑒2 𝑂3 2 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝐹𝑒 55.845 𝑔 𝐹𝑒

𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐹𝑒 = 50.0 𝑔 𝐹𝑒2 𝑂3 × × ×
159.69𝑔 𝐹𝑒2 𝑂3 1 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝐹𝑒2 𝑂3 1 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝐹𝑒
= 35.0 𝑔𝐹𝑒

We can also calculate for the amount of C that will be consumed in the
reaction by using the stoichiometric relationship of Fe2O3 and C.

1 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝐹𝑒2 𝑂3 3 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝐶 12.01 𝑔 𝐶

𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐶 = 50.0 𝑔 𝐹𝑒2 𝑂3 × × ×
159.69𝑔 𝐹𝑒2 𝑂3 1 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝐹𝑒2 𝑂3 1 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝐶
= 11.3 𝑔 𝐶

Limiting Reagents and Excess Reagent

Although we can calculate for the exact amounts of reactants that should be
used to produce a certain amount of product, in the laboratory, chemists use
an excess amount of one of the reactants, usually the cheaper one. This
ensures that the more expensive reagent would be completely converted to
the product. The reactant that is used up first in a reaction is called the
limiting reagent while the one used in excess is called the excess reagent. It is
the limiting reagent that determines the yield of the product. When there is
no more limiting reagent, no new products would be formed. If we are given
specific amounts of reactants, how do we know which one is the limiting
reagent?
Example 8: To synthesize urea, (NH2)2CO, ammonia, NH3, is made to react
with carbon dioxide, CO2. Water is also produced in the process. Suppose we
used 10.0 g of NH3 and 20.0 g of CO2. Which one is the limiting reagent?

Solution: First, we have to write the balanced equation for the reaction:

2NH3 + CO2→ (NH2)2CO + H2O

Then we determine which one is the limiting reagent. We can do this by

calculating the moles or grams of product that would be produced if each
reactant is completely consumed.

Using NH3:
1 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑁𝐻3 1 𝑚𝑜𝑙 (𝑁𝐻2 )2 𝐶𝑂
10.0 𝑔 𝑁𝐻3 × × = 0.294 𝑚𝑜𝑙 (𝑁𝐻2 )2 𝐶𝑂
17.03 𝑔 𝑁𝐻3 2 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑁𝐻3

Using CO2:
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Stoichiometry

1 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝐶𝑂2 1 𝑚𝑜𝑙 (𝑁𝐻2 )2 𝐶𝑂

20.0 𝑔 𝐶𝑂2 × × = 0.454 𝑚𝑜𝑙 (𝑁𝐻2 )2 𝐶𝑂
44.01 𝑔 𝐶𝑂2 1 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝐶𝑂2
Since NH3 would produce less amount of urea, it is the limiting reagent.
As mentioned earlier, the amount of limiting reagent determines the amount
of product. From our example, we can now calculate for the theoretical yield
of urea. We have calculated that 10.0 grams of NH3 produces 0.3 mol of urea.
We just need to convert this from moles to grams:

60.06 𝑔 (𝑁𝐻2 )2 𝐶𝑂
0.294 𝑚𝑜𝑙 (𝑁𝐻2 )2 𝐶𝑂 × = 17.6 𝑔 (𝑁𝐻2 )2 𝐶𝑂
1 𝑚𝑜𝑙 (𝑁𝐻2 )2 𝐶𝑂

Percent Yield
However, it is most likely that the actual yield of the reaction would be lesser
than the amount predicted by the theoretical yield. Reactions wherein the
actual yield is the same as the theoretical yield are rare. There are many
reasons why we do not always get the theoretical yield. It could be that the
reaction has reached a state of equilibrium before all the limiting reagent has
reacted. Another reason could be formation of unwanted products. In some
cases, even if the entire limiting reagent is used up and converted to the
desired product, some of the product is lost during recovery and purification.
To determine the efficiency of a chemical reaction, percent yield is calculated
by using the formula below:
𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑦𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑
𝐸𝑞. 2: %𝑦𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑 = × 100
𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑦𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑
Example 9: Dimethyl sulfoxide or DMSO is produced by oxidation of
dimethyl sulfide or DMS as shown by the equation below:

2(CH3)2S + O2 → 2(CH3)2SO

When 250 g of DMS reacts with excess of oxygen, 275.25 g of DMSO is

produced. What is the reaction’s percent yield?
Solution: First, we have to know the theoretical yield for the reaction:

1 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝐷𝑀𝑆 2 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝐷𝑆𝑀𝑂 78.13 𝑔 𝐷𝑀𝑆𝑂

250 𝑔 𝐷𝑀𝑆 × × ×
62.13 𝑔 𝐷𝑀𝑆 2 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝐷𝑀𝑆 1 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝐷𝑀𝑆𝑂
= 314.38 𝑔 𝐷𝑀𝑆𝑂

Therefore, the percent yield is:

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 275.25 𝑔 𝐷𝑀𝑆𝑂
%𝑦𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑 = × 100 = 87.55%
314.38 𝑔 𝐷𝑀𝑆𝑂

Glossary
actual yield: the amount of product actually obtained in a chemical reaction
atomic mass unit: a mass exactly equal to 1/12th the mass of one carbon-12
atom
Avogadro’s number: 6.02 ×1023; the number of particles in one mole of a
substance
chemical equation: an equation that uses chemical symbols to show what
happens during a chemical reaction
chemical reaction: a process in which a substance (or substances) is
changed into one or more new substances
excess reagents: one or more reactants present in quantities greater than
necessary to react with the quantity of the limiting reagent
limiting reagent: the reactant that is used up first in a chemical reaction
molar mass: the mass (in grams or kilograms) of one mole of atoms,
molecules, or other particles
mole: the amount of substance that contains as many elementary entities
(atoms, molecules, or other particles) as there are atoms in exactly 12 grams
(or 0.012 kilograms) of the carbon-12 isotope
molecular mass: the sum of the atomic masses (in amu) present in the
molecule
percent composition by mass: The percent by mass of each element in a
compound
percent yield: the ratio of actual yield to theoretical yield, multiplied by 100
percent
product: the substance formed as a result of a chemical reaction
reactants: the starting substances in a chemical reaction
stoichiometric amounts: the exact molar amounts of reactants and
products that appear in the balanced chemical equation
stoichiometry: the quantitative study of reactants and products in a
chemical reaction
theoretical yield: the amount of product predicted by the balanced equation
when all of the limiting reagent has reacted
 General Chemistry
13
Stoichiometry

References and Supplementary Materials

Books and Journals
Brown, T.L., LeMay Jr., H.E., Bursten, B.E., Murphy, C.J., Woodward, P.M.,
Stoltzfus, MW; 2015; Chemistry – The Central Science (13th Edition); Upper
Saddle River, NJ; Pearson Education, Inc.
Chang, R.; 2010; Chemistry (10th Edition); New York; McGraw-Hill
Companies, Inc.
McMurry, J.E., Fay, R.C., Fantini, J.; 2012; Chemistry (6th Edition); Upper
Saddle River, NJ; Pearson Education, Inc.

Online Supplementary Reading Materials

Stoichiometry;
https://www.khanacademy.org/science/chemistry/chemical-reactions-
stoichiome/stoichiometry-ideal/a/stoichiometry; 23-Apr-17
Stoichiometry and Balancing Reactions;
https://chem.libretexts.org/Core/Inorganic_Chemistry/Chemical_Reactions/
Stoichiometry_and_Balancing_Reactions; 23-Apr-2017
Stoichiometry; http://www.shodor.org/unchem/basic/stoic/; 23-Apr-17

Online Instructional Videos

Chemical reactions and Stoichiometry;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjQG3rKSZUQ; 23-Apr-17
Stoichiometry Tutorial;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnfATaoubzA;
23-Apr-17
Stoichiometry; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQq203gyftA; 23-Apr-
17

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