Stoichiometry

Definitions and formulae

From the syllabus

More later
Unified atomic mass unit
• Before we look at some definitions we need to define the unit which use when
measuring the mass of atoms
• The unit we use to measure the mass of atoms is the ‘unified atomic mass unit’ it has
the symbol ‘u’
1u = 1.66053906660×10−27g
• Carbon-12 (for reasons we don’t need to worry about at AS level) was chosen as the
atom to which all other atoms would be measured ‘relative’ to

1
1𝑢= 𝑡h𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 carbon-12 atom
12
 Relative atomic mass, Ar
The relative atomic mass is the weighted average mass of an atom
of an element compared to1/12 the mass of an atom of carbon–12

• A ‘weighted’ average means that when each isotope is included in the calculation of Ar its
abundance is also taken into account
• Some isotopes appear in very small proportions of the element as a whole and so should
not have much effect on the final relative atomic mass
• Symbol: Ar
• eg. Ar (Mg) = 24.3
 Relative formula mass, Mr
• The relative formula mass is the weighted average mass of a
formula unit of a substance compared to 1/12 the mass of an atom
of carbon–12

• The relative formula mass should also be familiar to you from GCSE
• A formula unit means 1 lot of the compound from the chemical formula
• A formula unit of sodium chloride is ‘NaCl’
• A formula unit of ethene is ‘C2H4’
 Relative molecular mass
• The relative molecular mass is the weighted average mass of a
molecule of a substance compared to 1/12 the mass of an atom of
carbon–12

• Essentially RMM is the same as Mr however we should really only use this when taking
about substances which form molecules
• eg. H2O, C2H6, NH3
• Relative formula mass and relative molecular mass is used interchangeably for the
purposes of the course
• What you will see and use will mostly be Ar and Mr
 35
Cl
35
Cl
35
Cl 35
Cl
35
Cl 35
Cl
Cl2
• The relative atomic mass (Ar) of Chlorine is 35.5
• You could imagine that 50% of the chlorine atoms are a 36Cl isotope and that
another 50% are a 35Cl isotope
• This would give an average of 35.5 however this is not the case!

35
Cl
35
Cl 35
Cl
35
Cl
37
Cl
37
Cl

35
Cl
37
Cl 37
Cl 35
Cl
 35
Cl
35
Cl
35
Cl 35
Cl
35
Cl 35
Cl
Cl2
• In fact 75% of chlorine exists as the 35Cl isotope whilst 25% exists as the 37Cl
isotope
• 75% as a decimal = 0.75

35
Cl
35
Cl 35
Cl
35
Cl
37
Cl
37
Cl

35
Cl
37
Cl 37
Cl 35
Cl
Relative isotopic mass
The relative isotopic mass is the mass of an atom of an isotope compared
to 1/12 the mass of an atom of carbon–12

• So the relative isotopic mass of an atom of chlorine-35 is 35

• This comes up rarely but it is worth being aware of
Close your notes
Match the definition 1 2
weighted average mass of weighted average mass of
an atom of an element a molecule of a substance
compared to 1/12 the mass compared to 1/12 the mass
of an atom of carbon–12 of an atom of carbon–12

3 4weighted average mass of

mass of an atom of an
a formula unit of a
isotope compared to 1/12 the
substance compared to 1/12
mass of an atom of
the mass of an atom of
carbon–12
carbon–12

A: relative formula mass B: relative isotopic mass

C: relative atomic mass D: relative molecular mass
 In rough, Copy out and fill in the gaps

________ average mass of weighted _________

an atom of an _____ _______ of a molecule of a
substance compared to ___
compared to 1/12 the mass the mass of an atom of
of an atom of carbon–12 carbon–12

________average mass of
mass of an atom of an
a formula unit of a
isotope _______to 1/12 the
substance compared to 1/12
____ of an _____of
____ _____of an atom of
carbon–12
_________
Relative formula mass
• We can calculate Mr by adding together the relative atomic masses of all of the
atoms in the ‘formula unit’
• It is the same as you have done at GCSE
• Use your data booklet (periodic table) for values of Ar
• Eg. Mr (MgBr2) = 24.3 + 79.9 + 79.9
= 184.1
Calculate Mr of the following:
• NaCl
• MgO
• AlBr3
• CaCO3
• H2O
• O2
• NaOH
• SrSO4
• C4H10
• NH4NO3
Hydrated salts
• The formula for hydrated Copper Sulphate is:

CuSO4.5H2O

• Mr (CuSO4.5H2O) = 249.6

Use this information to work with your partner and try to

fully understand this chemical formula
Ar into memory
• You will save yourself a lot of time if you can begin to memorise the Ar values of some
of the most common elements

• Carbon - 12
• Oxygen - 16
• Nitrogen - 14
• Hydrogen - 1
• Sodium - 23
• Aluminium - 27
• Fluorine - 19
• They are all whole numbers
 MOLES
2.2 The mole and the Avogadro constant
Mole
• The mole (mol) is a unit of measurement for the Amount of Substance

mol is to Amount of Substance, n

as
m/s is to Speed

• “Heat 0.5 mol of sulphur powder”

• it is the ‘amount of substance’ that you are interested in
• “The men ran at 9 m/s”
Definition
• IUPAC defines the mole as follows:

The mole, symbol mol, is the SI unit of amount of substance. One mole
contains exactly 6.022 140 76 × 1023 elementary entities. This number is
the fixed numerical value of the Avogadro constant, NA, when expressed in
mol−1, and is called the Avogadro number.
Simplified
• We can simplify this a little:
“The mole is the amount of substance which contains the same number of particles
as there are atoms in 12g of carbon-12.”
• How many atoms are there in 12g of the carbon-12 isotope?
• the Avogadro constant L = 6.02 × 1023 mol-1

602 214 179 000 000 000 000 000!

Video
• Ted-Ed, The mole: 4min 32
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEl4jeETVmg
CHEMICAL FORMULAE
2.3 Formulae
Common formulae
Give the formula of the following ions:
1. Nitrate
2. Sulphate
3. Hydroxide
4. Carbonate
5. Ammonium
6. Hydrogen carbonate
7. Phosphate
8. Silver ion
9. Zinc ion
Ionic Bonding

• In an ionic bond the difference in electronegativity between the two atoms is so

great electrons are ‘donated’ – we’ll find out more about this in unit 3
• A positive and negative ion(s) is formed
Ionic formulae
• Here are some examples of ionic substances
• NaCl, MgO, CaF2 LiF, Li2O, MgF2, Al2O3
• Notice how the charges on the positive and negative ions cancel out
• as you learnt at GCSE
• The number of electrons which can be lost or gained relates to the group to
which the element belongs on the periodic table
Forms 1+ ions Forms 3+ ions
by losing an electron by losing 3 electrons
Forms 2+ ions
by losing 2 electrons Forms 1- ions
by gaining an electron

Forms 2- ions
Forms 3- ions by gaining 2
by gaining 3 electrons electrons
Other common ions
• Zinc forms a 2+ ion, Zn2+
• Silver forms a 1+ ion, Ag+

• The following ions are polyatomic – they contain more than one atom and have an overall charge

• Nitrate NO3-
• Sulphate SO42-
• Hydroxide OH-
• Carbonate CO32-
• Ammonium NH4+
• Hydrogen carbonate HCO3-
• Phosphate PO43-
 Working out formulae
Sodium carbonate: Sodium nitrate: Sodium hydroxide:
Na +
group 1
Na+ group 1 Na2+ group 2
CO3 2-
2 minus charge
NO3- 1 minus charge OH- 1 minus charge

You need two sodium ions (1+ each)

to cancel out the 2-of the carbonate You need one nitrate ions (1- You need only one hydroxide
each) to cancel out the 1+ of ion (1- each) to cancel out the
the sodium 1+ of the sodium
Na+
CO32-
Na+ Na+ NO3- Na+ OH-

NaNO 3 NaOH
Na2CO3
 Working out formulae
Calcium Chloride: Calcium nitrate: Calcium oxide:
Ca2+ group 2 Ca2+ group 2 Ca2+ group 2
Cl- group 7
NO3- 1 minus charge O2- group 6

You need two Chloride ions (1-

each) to cancel out the 2+ of the You need two nitrate ions (1- each) You need only one oxide ion
Calcium to cancel out the 2+ of the Calcium (2- each) to cancel out the 2+
of the Calcium

Cl- NO3-
Ca2+
Ca2+
NO3- Ca2+ O2-
Cl-

Ca(NO 3)2 CaO

CaCl2
The brackets show we need two of
the entire ion
Formulae Work out the formulae for the following chemicals:

1. Zinc chloride 7. Sodium carbonate 15. Ammonium

2. Silver nitrate 8. Potassium iodide carbonate
3. Ammonium 9. Sodium hydroxide 16. Barium chloride
chloride 10. Sodium sulphate 17. Aluminium
4. Ammonium chloride
11. Calcium chloride
sulphate 18. Aluminium nitrate
12. Calcium nitrate
5. Sodium chloride 19. Aluminium
13. Calcium hydroxide sulphate
6. Sodium nitrate
14. Calcium sulphate
BALANCING
EQUATIONS
2.3 Formulae
Examining Equations
CH4 + O2  CO2 + H2O

• As we know from our work on molecular formula the numbers in blue only tell us
how many atoms are in each molecule
• You cannot change them while balancing – if you did you would have a different
substance!
Balancing
• For an equation to be balanced we have to ensure that:
• number of atoms on the left = number of atoms on the right

CH4 + O2  CO2 + H2O

• So is this equation balanced? Look at the atoms
C=1 C=1
H=4 H=2
O=2 O=3

NOT BALANCED
Stoichiometry
• We know that matter cannot be create or destroyed

• Stoichiometry ensures that the total mass of reactants equals the

total mass of products
NOT BALANCED

CH4 + O2  CO2 + H2O

BALANCED

CH4 + 2O2  CO2 + 2H2O

Techniques for balancing
1. Find an unbalanced atom which only appears once on each side of the equation

Mg + O2  MgO
• We have 1 oxygen atom on the right but 2 on the left
• We can only add stoichiometry values
• NOT MgO2 as this isn't magnesium oxide anymore!

Mg + O2  2 MgO
• Now we have balanced the oxygens but the magnesium is no longer balanced

Balanced: 2 Mg + O2  2 MgO
A warm-up:
• Balance the following equations:
• Ca + O2  CaO
• Mg + HCl  MgCl2 + H2
• CO + O2  CO2
• CH + O2  CO2 + H2O
4
• CuCO  CuO + CO2
3
Techniques for balancing
2. Balancing often involves you ‘bouncing’ from one side to the other

F2 + KBr  KF + Br2 balance the fluorine

F2 + KBr  2 KF + Br2 bounce back to balance the potassium

Balanced: F2 + 2 KBr  2 KF + Br2

Techniques for balancing
3. If values are not divisible (like 2 & 3) you will have to find a value which works for
both numbers

Al + O2  Al2O3 scale the oxygen up so we have

6 on both sides

Al + 3 O2  2 Al2O3 balance the aluminium

Balanced: 4 Al + 3 O2  2 Al2O3
It is a similar idea to 𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟒 𝟕
finding the lowest common + = + =
denominator in maths 𝟐 𝟑 𝟔 𝟔 𝟔
Techniques for balancing
4. Sometimes your initial values may need to be altered

Fe2O3 + C  Fe + CO2 perhaps you balance the iron first

Fe2O3 + C  2 Fe + CO2 then scale up the oxygen

2 Fe2O3 + C  2 Fe + 3 CO2 you need to change the iron

2 Fe2O3 + C  4 Fe + 3 CO2 before you finish the carbon

Balanced: 2 Fe2O3 + 3 C  4 Fe + 3 CO2

Some more practice:
• Balance the following equations:
• Fe + H2O  Fe3O4 + H2
• NH + O  NO + H O
3 2 2
• C H + O  CO + H O
4 8 2 2 2
• Al + Cl  AlCl
2 3
•HO HO + O
2 2 2 2
 Techniques for balancing
5. You can treat most polyatomic ions as single entity if it appears the same on both
sides of the equation

NH4OH + CuSO4  (NH4)2SO4 + Cu(OH)2

Don’t count the oxygens!
We have one NH4+ ion, OH- ion and SO42- ion on the left We have two NH4+ ions and
two OH- ions on the right

Balanced:
2 NH4OH + CuSO4  (NH4)2SO4 + Cu(OH)2
Some Final practice:
• Balance the following equations:
• PbCO + HNO3  Pb(NO3)2 + H2O + CO2
3
• H PO + Mg  Mg (PO ) + H
3 4 3 4 2 2
• Pb O + HNO  Pb(NO ) + PbO + H O
3 4 3 3 2 2 2
• Na CO + HCl  NaCl + CO + H O
2 3 2 2
• NH + O  NO + H O
3 2 2
Harder examples
• What is the main aim of adding the stoichiometric values?
• Try to balance the following:

P + HNO3  H3PO4 + NO2 + H2O

• What do you think causes that equation to be more difficult to balance?

We will look at ways to make equations like this

easier to balance in unit 6
State symbols
• Solid sodium chloride
• We use a subscript ‘s’

NaCl (s)
State symbols
• Liquid/molten mercury
• We use a subscript ‘l’

Hg (l)
State symbols
• Gases use a subscript ‘g’

Cl2 (g)
State symbols
• If we dissolve a salt in water we create
an aqueous solution

KCl (aq)
Aqueous vs. liquid
• Take any salt eg. solid lithium bromide
LiBr(s)
• If we melt it at 1500°C we get molten lithium bromide
LiBr(l)
• If we dissolve it in water we get a SOLUTION of lithium bromide
LiBr(aq)