3.

4 Calculating Amounts of Reactants Mole-to-Mole Conversions

and Products • Conversion method
Stoichiometric Equivalences – The mole ratios are used as conversion factors
• Balanced chemical equations contain definite (mol given)×(mole ratio) = (mol required)
stoichiometric relations between reactants and
products → stoichiometric mole ratios Example: Determine the number of moles of
Example: 2H2 + O2 → 2H2O water produced from 3.4 mol O2.
2 mol H2 ⇔ 1 mol O2 → balanced equation: 2H2 + O2 → 2H2O
stoichiometric
2 mol H2 ⇔ 2 mol H2O equivalences → mole ratio (conversion factor): [2 mol H2O/1 mol O2]
1 mol O2 ⇔ 2 mol H2O
1 mol O2 / 2 mol H2  2 mol H 2O 
2 mol H2O / 2 mol H2
stoichiometric 3.4 mol O 2 ×   = 6.8 mol H 2O
mole ratios
 1 mol O 2 
2 mol H2O / 1 mol O2

• Stoichiometric conversion factors are reaction Mass-to-Mass Calculations

specific • Conversion method
Example: Calculate the amount of O2 needed to
produce 3.5 mol H2O by combustion of methane
(CH4).
→ balanced equation:
CH4 + 2O2 → CO2 + 2H2O
→ mole ratio (conversion factor):
2 mol O2 ⇔ 2 mol H2O
[2 mol O2/2 mol H2O]
 2 mol O 2 
3.5 mol H 2O ×   = 3.5 mol O 2
 2 mol H 2 O 

1
 Example: Calculate the mass of oxygen needed to Reaction Yield
completely burn 5.4 kg of butane (C4H10).
• Theoretical yield - the maximum amount of
→ balanced equation:
product that can be expected from a given
2C4H10 + 13O2 → 8CO2 + 10H2O
amount of reactant
→ mole ratio: [13 mol O2/2 mol C4H10]
• Actual yield - the actual amount of product
→ molar masses: isolated in a reaction
C4H10 → 58.1 g/mol O2 → 32.0 g/mol
Actual Yield ≤ Theoretical Yield
 10 3 g C4 H 10   1 mol C4 H 10  • Percentage yield:
5.4 kg C4 H 10 ×   ×   ×
 1 kg C4 H 10   58.1 g C4 H 10 
Actual Yield
 13 mol O 2   32.0 g O 2 
  ×   = 1.9 × 104 g O 2 = 19 kg O 2 % Yield = × 100%
 2 mol C4 H 10   1 mol O 2 
Theoretical Yield

• Reasons for the difference between actual Example: Calculate the theoretical yield of
and theoretical yield carbon dioxide produced by the combustion of
– incomplete reaction 25.0 g propane (C3H8) in excess oxygen.
– loss of product →balanced equation:
– side reactions C3H8 + 5O2 → 3CO2 + 4H2O
→mass-to-mass conversion:
 1 mol C3 H8   3 mol CO2 
25.0 g C3 H8 ×  × ×
 44.09 g C3 H8   1 mol C3 H8 
 44.01 g CO2 
×  = 74.9 g CO2 → Theor . Yield
 1 mol CO2 

2
 Example: Calculate the percentage yield of Limiting Reactants
carbon dioxide, if the combustion of 25.0 g • Reactants present in equivalent amounts
• All reactants are consumed at the same time
propane in excess oxygen yields 48.5 g carbon
• Nonequivalent amounts of reactants
dioxide.
• One reactant, called limiting reactant, is consumed
→ theoretical yield (from prev. problem): 74.9 g CO2 before the others
→ side reaction (consumes some of the propane): • The other reactants are in excess
2C3H8 + 7O2 → 6CO + 8H2O • Limiting reactant
• The reaction stops when the limiting reactant is
→ actual yield: 48.5 g CO2 consumed
→ percentage yield: • Limits the maximum amount of product achievable
(limits the theoretical yield)
48.5 g CO 2 • Stoichiometric calculations based on the limiting
% Yield = × 100% = 64.8% reactant give the lowest amount of product
74.9 g CO 2 compared to calculations based on the other reactants

Example: Identify the limiting reactant in the Example: Calculate the theoretical yield of HNO3
reaction of 5.0 mol H2 with 3.0 mol N2, and in the reaction of 28 g NO2 and 18 g H2O by the
determine the theoretical yield of NH3 in this
chemical equation:
reaction.
3NO2(g) + H2O(l) → 2HNO3(l) + NO(g).
→balanced equation: 3H2 + N2 → 2NH3
→calculate the theoretical yield based on each of the reactants →Calculate the theoretical yield based on each of the reactants
and chose the smaller result: and chose the smaller result:
 2 mol NH 3   1 mol H 2O   2 mol HNO 3 
3.0 mol N 2 ×   = 6.0 mol NH 3 18 g H 2 O ×  × ×
1 mol N
 2   18.0 g H 2O   1 mol H 2 O 
 2 mol NH 3   63.0 g HNO 3 
5.0 mol H 2 ×   = 3.3 mol NH 3 → Theor . Yield ×
 3 mol H 2   = 130 g HNO 3
smaller amount  1 mol HNO 3 
⇒ H2 is the limiting reactant

3
  1 mol NO 2   2 mol HNO 3 
28 g NO 2 ×  × ×
 46.0 g NO 2   3 mol NO 2 
 63.0 g HNO 3 
×  = 26 g HNO 3 → Theor . Yield
 1 mol HNO 3 
smaller amount

⇒The smaller amount of product results

from the calculation based on NO2
⇒NO2 is the limiting reactant and 26 g HNO3
is the theoretical yield