CHY 40 Chemical Reactions and Stoichiometry 1 of 6

CHEMICAL REACTIONS AND STOICHIOMETRY n

Atomic Weight =  (fractional abundance x mass of isotope) i

Laws of Chemical Combination i=1

1. Law of Conservation of Mass (Antoine Lavoisier, 1774) Note: fractional abundance = percent abundance / 100
During a chemical reaction, the total mass before reaction is equal to the total mass after
reaction. Conservation means something can neither be created nor destroyed. Here, it Example:
applies to matter. Naturally occurring chlorine is 75.53 percent 35Cl, which has an atomic mass of 34.969 amu, and
24.47 percent 37Cl, which has an atomic mass of 36.966 amu. Calculate the average atomic mass
2. Law of Definite Proportions (Joseph Proust, 1799) (that is, the atomic weight) of chlorine.
The relative kinds and numbers of atoms are constant for a given compound. A compound
always has the same formula. Solution: Average atomic mass = (0.7553) (34.969 amu) + (0.2447) (36.966 amu)
= 35.46 amu
3. Law of Multiple Proportions (John Dalton, 1803-1807)
If two elements A and B combine to form more than one compound, then the mass of B EXERCISE 1
which combines with the mass of A is a ratio of small whole numbers. 1. Calculate the atomic mass of Ne given the percentage abundances: 90.48%, 0.27%, and
20 21 22
9.26% for the isotopes 10 Ne , 10 Ne , and 10 Ne ,.
Atomic and Molar Mass 2. If 98.89% of carbon exists as carbon-12, which has a mass of 12.000000 u, while 1.11%
Atomic mass scale - a relative scale originally based on H which is assigned a mass of 1. exists as carbon-13, which has a mass of 13.00335 u, calculate the average atomic mass for
Atoms are too small to weigh directly. For example, one carbon atom has a mass of 1.99 x 10 -23 g carbon.
– too inconvenient! We need a more convenient unit for mass. 3. Two naturally occurring isotopes of boron, boron-10 and boron-11, have the masses of
10.012937 u and 11.009305 u, respectively. Calculate the percent natural abundance of each
Atomic mass units are convenient units to use when dealing with extremely small masses of isotope given the atomic mass of boron as 10.81 u.
individual atoms.
Molecule - an assembly of two or more atoms (nonmetals) tightly bound together. It is a group
1 amu = 1.66054 x 10–24 g and 1 g = 6.02214 x 1023 amu of bonded atoms that actually exist and can be identified as a distinct entity.

Carbon-12 was chosen and given a mass value of 12 amu. By definition, the mass of 12C is exactly Molecular compound - compounds that are composed of molecules and contain more than one
12 amu. Mass of all other atoms measured relative to mass of carbon-12. type of atom (e.g. H2O, CCl4). Most molecular substances contain only nonmetals.

1 amu = 1 the mass of carbon-12 Ionic compounds - combinations of metals and nonmetals; a compound made up of positive
12 (cation) and negative (anions) ions joined together by electrostatic forces of attraction.

Atomic Mass - the mass of atoms of elements expressed in atomic mass units.
1 g = 6.022 x 1023 amu
The mass of carbon on the periodic table is 12.01 amu, NOT 12.00 amu - WHY?!
Atomic masses reported on the periodic table are weighted averages of all naturally occurring
isotopes for each element.
Chemical Formula - a combination of symbols used to represent a compound.
It indicates:
a. the elements present
b. the relative numbers of atoms of each element in the compound - indicated by a subscript
following the element’s symbol. If there is no subscript, only one atom of that element is in
the compound. Some chemical formulas use parentheses that indicate that more than one of
that subunit present in the compound.

Isotopes - two or more atoms (nuclide) having the same atomic number but different mass Molecular Formula - chemical formulas that indicate the actual numbers and types of atoms in
number (e.g.
20
Ne , 21
Ne , and 22
Ne ). a molecule.
10 10 10

Formula weight (FW) - is the sum of atomic weights for the atoms shown in the chemical
Average atomic mass/atomic weight - is the average of the isotopic masses, weighed
formula.
according to the naturally occurring abundances of the isotopes of an element.
 CHY 40 Chemical Reactions and Stoichiometry 2 of 6
Molecular weight (MW) - is the sum of the atomic weights of the atoms in a molecule as EXERCISE 3
shown in the molecular formula. Calculate the percentage composition of each element in:
1. CCl3Br 2. Fe4[Fe(CN)6]3
Example
Calculate the formula weight or molecular weight of the following: Molar Mass and Avogadro’s Number
1. H2O Mole (n) - is the amount of matter that contains as many particles (atoms, molecules, or ions) as
Answer: the number of atoms contained in exactly 12 g of 12C.
MW = (no. of H atoms from chemical formula x atomic weight of H from periodic table)
+ (no. of O atoms from chemical formula x atomic weight of O from periodic table) Avogadro’s Number (NA) = 6.022 x 1023 entities
= (2 x 1.01 amu) + (1 x 16.00 amu)
= 18.02 amu that is, 1 mol of C  6.022 x 1023 C atoms
12

1 mol of HC2H3O2  6.022 x 1023 HC2H3O2 molecules

2. Ca(OH)2 1 mol of OH-  6.022 x 1023 OH- ions
FW = (1 x 40.08 amu) + (2 x 16.00 amu) + (2 x 1.01 amu) = 74.10 amu 1 mol of MgCl2  6.022 x 1023 MgCl2 formula units

3. BaCl2 ∙ 2H2O (barium chloride dihydrate) Molar mass - the mass in grams of 1 mole of substance (g/mol).
FW = (1 x 137.33 amu) + (2 x 35.45 amu) + (10 x 1.01 amu) + (5 x 16.00 amu) Molar masses for elements are the same as their atomic weight found on the periodic table. (1
= 244.27 amu mol = 6.02 x 1023 is the amount of atoms of any element that has a mass in grams equal to the
mass of one atom in amu).
EXERCISE 2
Calculate the formula/molecular weight of the following: The molar mass of a molecule is the sum of the molar masses of the atoms; thus, has same value
1. HCl as its molecular weight. The formula weight is also numerically equal to the molar mass.
2. C6H12O6 The atomic masses reported for each element in the periodic table gives the atomic weight in
3. CH3CH(NH2)COOH (alanine) amu and the molar mass in g/mol.
4. CuSO4 ∙ 5H2O
One H2O molecule weighs 18.0 amu  1 mol H2O weighs 18.0 g
Percentage composition from formulas - the percentage by mass contributed by each One NO3- ion weighs 62.0 amu  1 mol NO3- weighs 62.0 g
element in the substance. ( No. of X atoms)(AW of X) One NaCl unit weighs 58.5 amu  1 mol NaCl weighs 58.5 g
%X  x100 Example
FW of compound What is the molar mass of Mg3(PO4)2?
Steps in determining percentage composition: Answer: Molar mass of Mg3(PO4)2 = (3 x 24.31 g/mol) + (2 x 30.97 g/mol) + (8 x 16.00 g/mol)
1. Determine the mass of each individual element in the compound. Refer to the periodic table. = 262.87 g/mol
2. Add up all the masses of each element to get the total mass of compound.
3. Divide the mass of each individual element with the total mass of compound. EXERCISE 4
1. Determine the atomic/molar mass of the following:
Example: Calculate the percentage of each element in H2O. a. Al b. Al2(SO4)3
Solution: FW of H2O = (2 x 1.01 amu) + (1 x 16.00 amu)
= 18.02 amu USEFUL CONVERSIONS
Mass
Mass = Moles x Molar mass Moles 
g Molar mass
g  molx
mol g
mol 
g / mol
No. of particles = Moles x NA
particles = mol x particle/mol
 CHY 40 Chemical Reactions and Stoichiometry 3 of 6
Examples
1. How many grams are there in 3.80 moles of H2O? Table 1. Examples of Empirical and Molecular Formulas
Answer: Empirical Formula Molecular Formula n
CH3 C2H6 2
CH2O C6H12O6 6
HO H2O2 2
2. How many molecules are there in 3.80 moles of H2O? CH C6H6 6
Answer: CH2O CH2O 1

Note that substances with similar empirical formulas have the same percentage composition.

3. How many molecules of H2O are there in 7.4 g of H2O?

Answer:

4. How many grams H2O are contained 8.956 x 1024 molecules of H2O?
Answer:

EXERCISE 5
1. a. How many moles of glucose (C6H12O6) are there in 538 g of the substance?
b. How many glucose molecules are there in 5.23 g of glucose?
2. a. How many moles of Ne are there in 0.500 g Ne? Figure 1. Diagram for empirical formula calculation
b. How many Ne atoms are there in 0.500 g Ne?
3. How many moles of O2 contain 5.23 x 1024 molecules of oxygen? Example
Dibutyl succinate is an insect repellant used as agents for household ants and roaches. Its
composition is 62.59% C, 9.63% H, and 27.79% O. Its experimentally determined molecular
weight is 230 amu. What are the empirical and molecular formulas of dibutyl succinate?
Empirical Formulas from Analyses
Empirical formula (EF) - simplest whole-number ratio of atoms in a substance; may or may not Solution:
be the same as the molecular formula. Assume 100 g sample: C = 62.59 g
H = 9.63 g
Molecular formula (MF) - represents the molecule of a substance and shows the actual number O = 27.79 g
of atoms in a molecule.
MW
MF = (EF) n where n =
EW
Where MW is the molecular weight and EW is the empirical weight (i.e., the sum of atomic
weights in the empirical formula)
 CHY 40 Chemical Reactions and Stoichiometry 4 of 6
Step in determining the empirical formula using data from combustion analysis:
1. Convert: grams CO2  grams C
grams H2O  grams H
Calculate: grams O = grams sample – (grams C + grams H)
2. Convert: grams C  moles C
Grams H  moles H
grams O  moles O
3. Calculate the mole ratio and determine the empirical formula.
4. From the empirical formula, calculate the formula weight and calculate n from the formula
weight and the molecular weight.

Example
Caproic acid, the substance responsible for the aroma of dirty gym socks and running shoes,
Therefore the empirical formula of dibutyl succinate is C6H11O2 contains C, H, and O only. Combustion of 0.450 g sample of caproic acid gives 0.418 g H 2O and
1.023 g CO2. What is the empirical formula of caproic acid? If the molecular weight of caproic acid
and the empirical weight is EW = (6 x 12.01) + (11 x 1.01) + (2 x 16.00) = 115.17 is 116.2, what is the molecular formula?

The molecular formula is Solution:

Calculate the amount (in grams) of the elements C, H, and O as follows:

EXERCISE 6
1. Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) contains 40.92% C, 4.58% H, and 54.50% O by mass. What is the
empirical formula of ascorbic acid?
2. Sorbitol, used as sweetener in some sugar-free foods, has a molecular weight of 182 amu and
a mass composition as follows: 39.56 % C, 7.74 % H, and 52.7% O. What are the empirical
and molecular formulas of sorbitol?

Establishing Empirical Formula from Experimental Data

COMBUSTION ANALYSIS
C x H y Oz  O2  CO2  H 2 O
All C atoms in the compound  C atoms in CO2
All H atoms in the compound  H atoms in H2O
All O atoms in the compound and the O2 gas consumed  O atoms in CO2 and H2O
 CHY 40 Chemical Reactions and Stoichiometry 5 of 6
EXERCISE 7
Consider a sample of isopropyl alcohol, a substance sold as rubbing alcohol. The compound is The subscript 2 in H2O means there are two H atoms for each molecule of water.
known to contain only C, H, and O. Combustion of 0.255 g of isopropyl alcohol produces 0.561 g The coefficient 2 in 2 H2O means that there are two water molecules present. In 2 H2O there are
CO2 and 0.306 g H2O. Determine the empirical formula of isopropyl alcohol. If the molecular a total of four hydrogen atoms present (two from each water molecule).
weight of isopropyl alcohol is 60.11, what is the molecular formula?
From the balanced chemical equation, it can be deduced that 2 mol H2 = 1 mol O2 = 2 mol H2O
and are therefore stoichiometrically equivalent quantities.
Chemical Reactions and Equations
Stoichiometry - from the Greek word stoicheion (element) and metron (measure). It deals with Types of Chemical Reactions
the quantitative relationship of chemical formulas and chemical reactions. Alternatively, it deals 1. Combination
with mass relationships between the reactants and products in a chemical reaction. 2. Decomposition
3. Single Displacement
Chemical reaction - a process by which a set of substances is transformed through a chemical 4. Double Displacement
change into a new set of substances. 5. Oxidation-Reduction (Redox)
Physical manifestations of a chemical reaction: 6. Acid-Base or Neutralization
1. color change 7. Precipitation
2. formation of a solid (precipitate) within a clear solution 8. Combustion
3. evolution of gas
4. evolution or absorption of energy
Stoichiometric Calculations

Chemical equations - give a description of a chemical reaction.

There are two parts to any equation:
1. Reactants (written to the left of the arrow)
2. Products (written to the right of the arrow)

Generally, a chemical reaction is represented by this equation:

Reactants  Products
aA( w)  bB( x)  cC( y )  dD( z )
where: A, B, C, and D are chemical species
a, b, c, and d are stoichiometric coefficients
w, x, y, and z are physical state of the substance in a reaction

There are two sets of numbers in a chemical equation:

1. Numbers in front of the chemical formulas (stoichiometric coefficients) - give the ratio in
which reactants and products exist.
2. Numbers in the formulas (subscripts) - give the ratio in which the atoms are found in the
molecule.
Figure 2. Diagram for stoichiometric calculations
Illustration: Hydrogen combines with oxygen to form water.

Atomic/molecular level:
2 H2 molecules + 1 O2 molecule  2 H2O molecules
Mole level: 2 H2 (g) + O2 (g)  2 H2O (l)
Mass level: 2 (2.02 g/mol) + 1 (32.00g/mol)  2 (18.02g/mol)
 CHY 40 Chemical Reactions and Stoichiometry 6 of 6
Example 2. Given the unbalanced equation: Al ( s)  O2 ( g )  Al 2 O3 ( s)
Given the reaction: 2H 2 ( g )  O2 ( g )  2H 2 O(l ) a. How many moles of Al and O2 are needed to produce 10.0 mol Al2O3?
(a) How many moles of H2O can be produced from 1.57 moles O2? b. How many moles of O2 are required to produce 158.00 g Al2O3?
Solution: c. How many grams of Al and O2 are needed to yield 86.52 g Al2O3?

Limiting reagent (LR) - the reactant that determines the extent at which a chemical reaction
proceeds, the amount of products consumed, and the amount of products formed.
Excess reagent (ER) - the reactant present in quantities greater than what is needed to react
with the quantity of the limiting reagent present.

Guidelines in the calculation of problems involving limiting reagent:

1. Convert given amount of reactant to moles.
2. Divide mole of each reactant by their corresponding coefficients from balanced chemical
(b) How many grams of O2 is needed to completely react with 4.2 moles of H2? equation. The one with smallest result is the limiting reagent.
Solution: 3. Calculate the required quantity based on the given amount of limiting reagent.

Example
How many grams of NO can be produced in the reaction of 5.00 g NH3 and 7.50 g O2?
4 NH 3 ( g )  5O2 ( g )  4 NO ( g )  6 H 2 O(l )

Solution:

(c) How many grams of H2O will be produced from 6.15 g of H2?
Solution:

EXERCISE 9
Consider the reaction: 2 Al ( s)  3Cl 2 ( g )  2 AlCl 3 ( s)
EXERCISE 8 A mixture of 1.5 grams Al and 3.0 grams Cl2 are allowed to react.
1. Consider the following reaction: CH 4 ( g )  2O2 ( g )  CO2 ( g )  2H 2 O( g ) a. What is the limiting reagent?
a. How many moles of O2 are needed to completely react with 2.25 moles of CH4. b. How many grams of AlCl3 are formed?
b. How many moles of CO2 are formed when 5.25 moles of O2 completely react?
 CHY 40 Chemical Reactions and Stoichiometry 7 of 6
Theoretical yield (TY) - the calculated amount of products expected from given quantities of EXERCISE 10
reactants in a chemical reaction. 1. The reaction of 15.0 g C4H9OH, 22.4 g NaBr, and 32.7 g H2SO4 yields 17.1 g C4H9Br in the
Actual yield (AY) - the amount of product actually produced. reaction: C 4 H 9 OH  NaBr  H 2 SO4  C 4 H 9 Br  NaHSO4  H 2 O
The actual yield may not be the same as the theoretical yield for some reasons:
 Some products may be lost during purification steps  decreases AY a. Determine the limiting reagent and excess reagents.
b. Calculate the theoretical yield and the percentage yield.
 Formation of by-products during side reactions  increases AY
 Products formed may be wet  increases AY
2. A strip of zinc metal weighing 2.00 g is placed in an aqueous solution containing 2.50 g of
 Products may be contaminated with excess reagents  increases AY
silver nitrate, causing the following reaction to occur:
Percentage Yield Zn( s)  2 AgNO3 (aq)  2 Ag ( s)  Zn( NO3 ) 2 (aq)
Actual Yield a. Which is the limiting reactant?
% Yield  x100 b. How many grams of Ag will form?
Theoretical Yield c. How many grams of Zn(NO3)2 will form?
Example d. How many grams of the excess reagent will be left at the end of the reaction?
Titanium is prepared by the reduction of titanium (IV) chloride with molten magnesium between
950C and 1150C. In a certain operation, 3.54 x 104 kg TiCl4 is reacted with 1.13 x 104 kg Mg
according to the following reaction: ADDITIONAL EXERCISES
TiCl 4 ( g )  2Mg (l )  Ti (s)  2MgCl2 (l ) 1. What is the empirical formula of a compound which contains 60.0% O and 40.0% S by mass?
a. Calculate the theoretical yield of Ti in kg.
b. What is the percentage yield if 7.91 x 103 kg Ti is actually produced? 2. Determine the empirical and molecular formula of the following compounds:
a. Ibuprofen, an analgesic, which contains 75.69% C, 8.80% H, and 15.51% O by mass and
has a molar mass of 206 g/mol.
b. Monosodium glutamate (MSG), a flavor enhancer, which contains 35.51% C, 4.77% H,
37.85% O, 8.29% N, and 13.60% Na and has a molar mass of 169 g/mol.

3. There are four naturally occurring isotopes of chromium. Their masses and percent natural
abundances are 49.9461 u, 4.35%; 51.9405 u, 83.79%; 52.9407 u, 9.50%, and 53.9389 u,
2.36%. Calculate the atomic mass of chromium.

4. Nicotine, a component of tobacco, is composed of C, H, and N. A 5.250 mg sample of nicotine

was combusted producing 14.242 mg CO2 and 4.083 mg H2O. What is the empirical formula
of nicotine? If the substance has a molar mass of 160 ± 5 g, what is the molecular formula?

5. Vanillin, the dominant flavoring in vanilla, contains three elements: C, H, and O. When 1.05 g
of this substance is completely combusted, 2.43 g CO2 and 0.50 g H2O are produced. What is
the empirical formula of vanillin?

6. An element X forms a compound with carbon for which the formula is XC 2. If 37.48% of the
compound is carbon, what is the atomic weight of X?

7. Consider stearic acid, C18H36O2 (284.4 g/mol).

a. The mass in grams of 0.450 mol of stearic acid is ____________.
b. The number of moles of H atoms in 2.4 x 1024 molecules of stearic acid is ____________.
c. The mass percentage of oxygen in stearic acid is ____________.
d. The total number of atoms in 0.150 mol of stearic acid is ____________.
 CHY 40 Chemical Reactions and Stoichiometry 8 of 6
8. Consider the following: Hydrogen cyanide, HCN (27.0 g/mol), is prepared from ammonia, NH3
(17.0 g/mol), oxygen, O2 (32.0 g/mol), and natural gas, CH4 (16.0 g/mol), by the following
process: 2 NH 3 ( g )  3O2 ( g )  2CH 4 ( g )  2 HCN ( g )  6 H 2 O( g ) .
a. The amount in grams of HCN that can be produced from the reaction of 1.00 mol of NH3
with sufficient O2 and CH4 is ____________.
b. The amount in grams of O2 that will be needed to react completely with 20.0 g CH4 is
____________.
c. The amount in grams of H2O produced for every 5.00 g of HCN formed is ____________.
d. If 1.00 mol each of NH3, O2, and CH4 are mixed, which is the limiting reactant?
e. The amount in moles of HCN that can be produced in (d) is ____________.
f. The amount in grams of CH4 needed to produce 1.00 mol HCN if the reaction has a yield
of 82.0% is ____________.

9. Determine the molar mass of the following compounds:

a. C2H5OH c. AlCl3
b. Al2(SO4)3 d. N2O4

10. Automotive air bags inflate when sodium azide, NaN3, rapidly decomposes to its component
elements: 2 NaN 3  2 Na ( s)  3N 2 ( g )
a. How many moles of nitrogen gas are produced by the decomposition of 1.50 mol NaN3?
b. How many grams of NaN3 are required to form 5.00 g nitrogen gas?
c. How many grams of NaN3 are required to produce 100 L nitrogen gas if the gas has a
density of 1.25 g/L?

11. How many grams of carbon dioxide can be formed when a mixture of 4.95 g ethylene (C2H4)
and 3.25 g O2 is ignited, assuming complete combustion to form carbon dioxide and water.

12. One of the steps in the commercial process for converting ammonia to nitric acid involves the
conversion of NH3 to NO: 4 NH 3( g )  5O2 ( g )  4 NO( g )  6 H 2 O( g )
In a certain experiment, 2.50 g NH3 reacts with 2.85 g O2.
a. Which is the limiting reactant?
b. How many grams of NO are formed?
c. How much of the excess reagent remains after the limiting reactant is completely
consumed?
CHY 40 Chemical Reactions and Stoichiometry 9 of 6