3.2.

3 Using Moles to Balance

Equations
• Stoichiometry refers to the numbers in front of the reactants and products in an
equation, which must be adjusted to make sure that the equation is balanced
• These numbers are called coefficients (or multipliers) and if we know the masses of
reactants and products, the balanced chemical equation for a given reaction can be
found by determining the coefficients
• First, convert the masses of each reactant and product in to moles by dividing by the
molar masses using the periodic table
• If the result yields uneven numbers, then multiply all of the numbers by the same
number, to find the smallest whole number for the coefficient of each species
o For example, if the resulting numbers initially were 1, 2 and 2.5, then you would
multiply all of the numbers by 2, to give the whole numbers 2, 4 and 5
• Then, use the molar ratio to write out the balanced equation

Worked example
64 g of methanol, CH3OH, reacts with 96 g of oxygen gas to produce 88 g of carbon dioxide and
72 g of water.
Deduce the balanced equation for the reaction.

(C = 12, H = 1, O = 16)
Answer
•
o Calculate the molar masses of the substances in the equation
CH3OH = 32 g / mol O 2 = 32 g / mol
CO2 = 44 g / mol H2O = 18 g / mol
•
o Divide the masses present by the molar mass to obtain the number of moles
CH3OH = 64 g ÷ 32 g mol-1 = 2 mol
O2 = 96 g ÷ 32 g mol-1 = 3 mol
CO2 = 88 g ÷ 44 g mol-1 = 2 mol
H2O = 72 g ÷ 18 gmol-1 = 4 mol
 •
o The mole ratios are the same as the coefficients in the balanced equation

2CH3OH + 3O2 ⟶ 2CO2 + 4H2O

Exam Tip
The molar ratio of a balanced equation gives you the ratio of the amounts of each substance in
the reaction.

• For the reaction of elements forming compounds, it can be necessary to determine the
formula of one of the products in order to balance the equation
• This involves calculating the empirical formula
1. Write each element involved
2. Determine the mass of each element
3. Write the atomic mass of each element
4. Calculate the number of moles of each element (divide by the atomic mass)
5. Calculate the ratio of elements (divide by the smallest answer)
6. Write the final empirical formula
• With the formula of the product, it is then possible to write a balanced symbol equation

Exam Tip
• The empirical formula is the simplest whole number ratio of all elements in a substance
• If the value that you calculate is very close to a whole number, then you can round it off
o e.g. 1.003 ≈ 1
• If the value that you calculate is not close to a whole number, then you might need to
double or triple all of the values you have
o 0.3324 and 1.003 would become 0.3324 x 3 ≈ 1 and 1.003 x 3 ≈ 3
Worked example
10 g of hydrogen and 80 g of oxygen react to form one product.
Deduce the balanced equation for the reaction.
(C = 12, H = 1, O = 16)
 •
o The equation can then be balanced as normal
o ___H2 + ___O2 → ___H2O
▪ The O2 suggests that 2H2O is needed
o ___H2 + ___O2 → 2H2O
▪ The 2H2O suggests that 2H2 is needed
o 2H2 + O2 → 2H2O
▪ The equation is balanced
o The reactants could be balanced using the technique shown in the previous
worked example
▪ However, there is not sufficient information to balance the products
▪ 10 moles of hydrogen and 5 moles of oxygen is 2 : 1
▪ But there is no information about the product
• 2H2 + O2 → H2O
• The equation is unbalanced
Exam Tip
At GCSE level, it is unlikely that you will be given the information in percentages but if you are
just treat them as though the percentage value is the mass

The Effect of Temperature on Rate Constants

• The following general reaction and rate equation will be used to discuss the
effect of temperature on the rate constant, k:
A+B→C+D
 Rate of reaction = k[A][B]
• The rate equation shows that rate of reaction depends on the rate constant, k,
and the concentration of the reactants
• As the rate of reaction increases the rate constant will increase
• Increasing the temperature of a reaction increases the rate of a chemical reaction
• Remember: this does not necessarily increase the yield of a chemical reaction
depending on whether a reaction is endothermic or exothermic according to Le
Châtelier’s principle
• Therefore, increasing the temperature also increases the value of the rate
constant, k, assuming that the concentration of the reactants remains unchanged
• An exponential relationship between the rate of reaction and temperature is
observed when seen on a graph:

Relationship
between temperature and rate constant, k
• The graph shows that the rate of reaction roughly doubles with an increase of 10
oC

• This general relationship does not apply to all reactions

• Also, it is not necessarily every 10 oC, the rate may double every 9 °C or 11 °C
• The number of degrees needed to double the rate also changes gradually as
temperature increases
• When the temperature of a reaction mixture increases, there are two contributing
factors to the increased rate and rate constant:
• Increasing temperature causes the particles to move around faster resulting in
more frequent collisions
• Furthermore, the proportion of successful collisions increases, meaning a
higher proportion of the particles possess the minimum amount of energy
(activation energy) to cause a chemical reaction
The Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution curve at T oC and when the temperature is
increased by 10 oC
• Therefore, an increase in temperature causes an increased rate of reaction due
to:
• There being more effective collisions as the particles have more kinetic
energy, making them move around faster
• A greater proportion of the molecules having kinetic energy greater than the
activation energy
• The increase in proportion of molecules having kinetic energy greater than the
activation has a greater effect on the rate of reaction than the increase in
effective collisions