Chemistry, The Central Science, 10th edition

Theodore L. Brown, H. Eugene LeMay, Jr.,

and Bruce E. Bursten

Chapter 3
Stoichiometry:
Calculations with Chemical
Formulas and Equations

Stoichiometry
Law of Conservation of Mass

• States that the total mass of

a substance present before
and after the chemical
reaction is the same

2HCl + BaO → H2O + BaCl2

Stoichiometry
 Law of Definite Proportions
(Joseph Proust, 1799)
• States that all samples of a compound
have the same composition, i.e. the
same proportion of mass by the
constituent elements
• Elemental composition of a pure
compound is always the same
regardless of the source
Stoichiometry
 Law of Multiple Proportions
(John Dalton)
• States that the mass of one element
that combines with a fixed mass of the
other element are in ratios of small
whole numbers if two elements are
combined to form more than one
compound.

Example: CO and CO2

Stoichiometry
 Chemical Equations

Concise representations of chemical

reactions

Stoichiometry
 Anatomy of a Chemical Equation

CH4 (g) + 2 O2 (g) CO2 (g) + 2 H2O (g)

Stoichiometry
 Anatomy of a Chemical Equation

CH4 (g) + 2 O2 (g) CO2 (g) + 2 H2O (g)

Reactants appear on the

left side of the equation. Stoichiometry
 Anatomy of a Chemical Equation

CH4 (g) + 2 O2 (g) CO2 (g) + 2 H2O (g)

Products appear on the

right side of the equation. Stoichiometry
 Anatomy of a Chemical Equation

CH4 (g) + 2 O2 (g) CO2 (g) + 2 H2O (g)

The states of the reactants and products

are written in parentheses to the bottom Stoichiometry
right of each compound.
 Anatomy of a Chemical Equation

CH4 (g) + 2 O2 (g) CO2 (g) + 2 H2O (g)

Coefficients are inserted to

balance the equation. Stoichiometry
 Subscripts and Coefficients Give
Different Information

• Subscripts tell the number of atoms of

each element in a molecule
Stoichiometry
 Subscripts and Coefficients Give
Different Information

• Subscripts tell the number of atoms of

each element in a molecule
• Coefficients tell the number of Stoichiometry
molecules
Types of
Chemical
Reaction
Stoichiometry
 Combination Reactions

• Two or more
substances
react to form
one product

• Examples:
N2 (g) + 3 H2 (g) 2 NH3 (g)
C3H6 (g) + Br2 (l) C3H6Br2 (l)
Stoichiometry
2 Mg (s) + O2 (g) 2 MgO (s)
2 Mg (s) + O2 (g) 2 MgO (s)

Stoichiometry
 Decomposition Reactions

• One substance breaks

down into two or more
substances

• Examples:
CaCO3 (s) CaO (s) + CO2 (g)
2 KClO3 (s) 2 KCl (s) + O2 (g) Stoichiometry

2 NaN3 (s) 2 Na (s) + 3 N2 (g)

 Combustion Reactions

• Rapid reactions that

produce a flame
• Most often involve
hydrocarbons
reacting with oxygen
in the air

• Examples:
CH4 (g) + 2 O2 (g) CO2 (g) + 2 H2O (g)
Stoichiometry
C3H8 (g) + 5 O2 (g) 3 CO2 (g) + 4 H2O (g)
The Atomic and
Molecular Mass

Stoichiometry
 Atomic Mass

• The mass of atoms of elements

expressed in atomic mass units (amu)
• The amu is defined by assigning a mass
of exactly 12 amu to the mass of the
12C isotope of carbon.

Stoichiometry
 Isotopes

• Isotopes are two or more atoms

(nuclides) having the same atomic
number (Z) but different mass numbers.

Stoichiometry
 Average Atomic Mass/
Atomic Weight
• The average of the isotopic masses,
weighed according to the naturally
occuring abundances of the isotopes of
an element.
• Unit: amu or u; g/mol

Stoichiometry
 Sample Problems
Ex1] Calculate the atomic mass of Ne given the
percent natural abundances: 90.48%, 0.27%,
and 9.26% for the three isotopes
respectively (ans : 20.19 amu)

Ex2] Two naturally occuring isotopes of boron,

boron-10 and boron-11, have the masses of
10.012937 u and 11. 009305 u, respectively.
Calculate the percent natural abundances of
each isotope given the atomic mass of boron as
10.81 u (ans: B-10:20% and B-11:80%) Stoichiometry
 Formula Weight (FW)
• Sum of the atomic weights for the atoms
in a chemical formula
• So, the formula weight of calcium
chloride, CaCl2, would be
Ca: 1(40.1 amu)
+ Cl: 2(35.5 amu)
111.1 amu
• These are generally reported for ionic
compounds

Stoichiometry
 Molecular Weight (MW)

• Sum of the atomic weights of the atoms

in a molecule
• For the molecule ethane, C2H6, the
molecular weight would be
C: 2(12.0 amu)
+ H: 6(1.0 amu)
30.0 amu

Stoichiometry
 Percent Composition
The percent composition of a component
in a compound is the percent of the total
mass of the compound that is due to
that component.

(number of A atoms)(atomic weight of A)

%A= x 100
(FW of the compound)

where A = any element in the periodic table

Stoichiometry
 Percent Composition

So the percentage of carbon in

ethane, C2H6, is…

(2)(12.0 amu)
%C =
(30.0 amu)
24.0 amu
= x 100
30.0 amu
= 80.0%
Stoichiometry
 Sample Problems

Ex3] Calculate the percentage composition

of each element in CCl3Br. (MW=198.26)

Stoichiometry
Moles

Stoichiometry
 Avogadro’s Number

• defined as the ratio of the number

of constituent particles in a sample to the
amount of substance.
• 6.022 x 1023 particles / 1 mole of entity

Particles= atoms/molecules/ions

Stoichiometry
 Avogadro’s Number

• 6.022 x 1023
• 1 mole of 12C has a
mass of 12 g

Stoichiometry
 Molar Mass

• By definition, these are the mass of 1

mol of a substance (i.e., g/mol)
– The molar mass of an element is the mass
number for the element that we find on the
periodic table
– The formula weight (in amu’s) will be the
same number as the molar mass (in g/mol)

Stoichiometry
 Using Moles

Moles provide a bridge from the molecular scale

to the real-world scale

Stoichiometry
 Mole Relationships

• One mole of atoms, ions, or molecules contains

Avogadro’s number of those particles
• One mole of molecules or formula units contains
Avogadro’s number times the number of atoms or
ions of each element in the compound Stoichiometry
 Sample Problems

Ex4]
a) How many molecules are there in
3.10 moles of H2O? (1.87x1024)

b) How many grams are there in 3.8

moles in H2O? (68 g)

Stoichiometry
 Finding
Empirical &
Molecular
Formulas
Stoichiometry
• Empirical Formula
– Simplest whole-number ratio of atoms.

• Molecular Formula
– Represents the molecule of a substance
and shows the actual number of atoms in a
molecule.
Stoichiometry
EMPIRICAL MOLECULAR n
CH2 C2H4 2
CH C6H6 6
CO2 CO2 1
CH2O C5H10O5 5

Stoichiometry
Calculating Empirical Formulas

Stoichiometry
Guidelines in Determining Mole
Ratio

• If the mole ratio has the following value:

Mole Ratio Multiply by Factor
a.50 2
a.33 or a.66 3
a.25 or a.75 4
a.20, a.40, a.60, a.80 5

Where a = 0, 1, 2, 3...

Stoichiometry
Calculating Molecular Formula from
Empirical Formula

• Molecular formula (MF) can be

determined from empirical formula (EF)
using the following guidelines:

MF = (EF) n

Molecular Weight, MW
where n = Empirical Formula Weight, EFW
Stoichiometry
 Sample Problem

Dibutyl succinate is an insect repellent

used against roaches. Its composition is
62.58% C, 9.63%H and 27.79%O.Its
experimentally determined molecular
mass is 230 amu. Calculate the
empirical formula and the molecular
formula.

Stoichiometry
 Sample Problems

Ex6]
Sorbitol, used as a sweetener in some
sugar-free foods, has a molecular mass
of 182 u and a mass percent composition:
39.56% C, 7.74% H, and 52.7% O. What
are the empirical formula and the
molecular formula of sorbitol?

Stoichiometry
Calculating Empirical Formulas
Ex 5]

Ascorbic acid, commonly known as

Vitamin C, is essential for supporting
different metabollic reactions in our
body. It contains 40.92 %C, 4.58
%H, 54.50 %O by mass. What is the
empirical formula of vitamin C?

Stoichiometry
 Combustion Analysis

CxHyOz + O2 → CO2 + H2O

• Compounds containing C, H and O are routinely
analyzed through combustion in a chamber like this
– C is determined from the mass of CO2 produced
– H is determined from the mass of H2O produced
– O is determined by difference after the C and H have been
Stoichiometry
determined
 Sample Problems
Ex7]
Caproic acid, the substance
responsible for the aroma of dirty gym
socks and running shoes, contain C, H,
and O only. On combustion, 0.450g of
sample of caproic acid gives 0.418g of
H2O and 1.023g CO2. What is the EF of
caproic acid? If the molecular weight of
caproic acid is 116.2 g/mol, what is its
MF? Stoichiometry
 Stoichiometric Calculations

The coefficients in the balanced equation give

the ratio of moles of reactants and products

Stoichiometry
 Stoichiometric Calculations
From the mass of
Substance A you can
use the ratio of the
coefficients of A and
B to calculate the
mass of Substance B
formed (if it’s a
product) or used (if
it’s a reactant)

Stoichiometry
 Sample Problems
Ex8] Given the unbalanced equation:
Al(s) + O2(g)  Al2O3
a.How many mole of O2 is needed to
produce 10 mole of Al2O3 (15 mol)
b.How many moles of Al are needed to
completely react with 52.00 g O2? (2.167
mol)
c.How many grams of O2 are needed to
produce 158.00 g Al2O3 (74.382 g)
Stoichiometry
 Limiting
Reactants
Stoichiometry
• Limiting Reactant
– The reactant in a chemical reaction that
limits the amount of product that can be
formed.
• Excess Reactant
– The reactant in a chemical reaction that
remains when the limiting reactant is
completely consumed.
Stoichiometry
 Analogy: Cheese Sandwich

Supposing:
10 slices loaf bread + 10 slices cheese = X sandwiches
Questions:
1. How many sandwich can we make?
2. What is the limiting ingredient?
3. What is the excess reactant?
Stoichiometry
 Limiting Reactants

• The limiting reactant is the reactant present in

the smallest stoichiometric amount
– In other words, it’s the reactant you’ll run out of first (in
this case, the H2)

Stoichiometry
 Theoretical Yield
• The theoretical yield is the amount of
product that can be produced based on
calculation.
– In other words it’s the amount of product
possible as calculated through the
stoichiometry problem.
• This is different from the actual
yield, the amount one actually produces
and measures.
Stoichiometry
 Percent Yield

A comparison of the amount actually

obtained to the amount predicted.

Actual Yield, (AY)

Percent Yield = x 100
Theoretical Yield, (TY)

Stoichiometry
 Sample Problems
Ex9]
How many grams of NO(g) can be
produced in the reaction of 1.00 mol of
NH3 and 1.00 mol O2?

NH3 (g) + O2 (g)  NO(g) + H2O(l)

Stoichiometry