CHM111

(GENERAL PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY)

Equations, Balancing reactions & other associated calculations

DR. ADEDAPO E. A.
2022/2023 Session
1
 Module 2: Stoichiometry

• Week 4: Mole concept & Chemical formulas

• Week 5: Equations, Balancing reactions & other

associated calculations
 CHEMICAL EQUATIONS
• A chemical equation is a means of expressing what happens when
a chemical reaction occurs.

• A chemical reaction is a process involving the breaking and/or

formation of chemical bonds and a change in the chemical
composition of the materials participating in the reaction.

• A chemical equation tells what reacts, what is produced, and the

relative quantities of each.
 CHEMICAL EQUATIONS
• The information provided can best be understood by
examining a typical chemical equation.

• For example, consider the burning of propane, a gas

extracted from petroleum that is widely used for heating,
cooking, grain drying, and other applications in which a
clean-burning fuel is needed in areas where piped natural
gas is not available.
 CHEMICAL EQUATIONS
• When propane burns in a camp stove, it reacts with oxygen
in the air. The chemical equation for this reaction and the
information in it are the following:

• Propane reacts with oxygen to give carbon dioxide and

water.
 𝑪𝟑 𝑯 𝟖 +𝟓𝑶 𝟐 →𝟑𝑪𝑶 𝟐+𝟒 𝑯 𝟐 𝑶
• There are two reactants on the left side of the equation—
propane, chemical formula C3H8 and oxygen, chemical
formula O2.

• There are two products on the right side of the equation –

carbon dioxide, chemical formula CO2, and water, chemical
formula H2O.
 𝑪𝟑 𝑯 𝟖 +𝟓𝑶 𝟐 →𝟑𝑪𝑶 𝟐+𝟒 𝑯 𝟐 𝑶
• For the smallest possible unit of this reaction

• 1 propane molecule reacts with 5 oxygen (O) molecules to

produce 3 carbon dioxide molecules and 4 water molecules,

• These are shown by the respective numbers preceding the

chemical formulas (there is understood to be a 1 in front of
the C3H8).
 𝑪𝟑 𝑯 𝟖 +𝟓𝑶 𝟐 →𝟑𝑪𝑶 𝟐+𝟒 𝑯 𝟐 𝑶
• There are 3 C atoms altogether on the left side of the equation, all contained
in the C3H8 molecule, and 3 C atoms on the right side contained in 3
molecules of CO2.

• There are 8 H atoms among the reactants, all in the C3H8 molecule, and 8 H
atoms among the 4 molecules of H2O in the product.

• There are 10 O atoms in the 5 O molecules on the left side of the equation
and 10 O atoms on the right side. The 10 O atoms in the products are present
in 3 CO2 molecules and 4 H2O molecules.
• Like mathematical equations, the left side of a chemical equation
must be equivalent to the right side.

• A correctly written chemical equation has equal numbers of

each kind of atom on both sides of the equation.

• As was just seen, the chemical equation being discussed has 3

carbon atoms, 8 hydrogen atoms and 10 oxygen atoms on both the
left and right sides of the equation. Therefore, the equation is
balanced.
• Balancing a chemical equation is a very important operation called
stoichiometric calculations.

• The stoichiometric equation of a chemical reaction is a statement of the

relative number of molecules or moles of reactants and products that
participate in the reaction.

• A valid stoichiometric equation must be balanced; that is, the number of

atoms of each atomic species must be the same on both sides of the
equation.
• Balancing a chemical equation is accomplished by placing the
correct number in front of each formula in the chemical equation.
However, the following must be remembered:

• Only the numbers in front of the chemical formulas may be

changed to balance a chemical equation.

• The chemical formulas, themselves, (subscript numbers) may

not be changed in balancing the equation.
 Examples
Consider the reaction of Ammonia gas (NH3) with oxygen (O2) to yield
nitrogen (II) oxide (NO) and water (H2O).
 
Assign coefficient a, b, c and d
a
N H O
a=c 3a=2d 2b = c+d
Let a = 1
C =1, d = , b =
Then,

Multiply both sides by 4

4 (balanced)

Exercise
• When there is presence of exactly the same polyatomic
ion on the reactant and the product side

• They can be regarded as a single entity when balancing

the equation.
 (balanced)

a = 1, c =2, b = 2, d= 1
 Exercise

Cr (OH)3 +HClO4 Cr (ClO4) + H2O

 Calculations based on chemical
equations
A chemical equation provides details of reactants and products in terms
of

• Relative number of molecules or atoms

• Relative number of moles

• Relative masses

• Relative volume
• The objective may be to figure out how much of one
reactant will react with a given quantity of another
reactant.

• Or, a particular quantity of a product may be desired, so

that it is necessary to calculate the quantity of a specific
reactant needed to give the amount of product.
 2H2(g) + O2(g) 2H20(g)
Molecules: 2 1 2
Mole: 2 1 2
Mass: 4g 32 g 36 g
Volume (dm3) 44.8 22.4 44.8

Example
What mass of sodium carbonate will be obtained on
heating 1.68 g of sodium bicarbonate to 300 oC.
Write the balanced equation for the reaction
2NaHCO3 Na2CO3 + CO2 + H2O

Molar mass of 2(NaHCO3) = 168 g

Molar mass of Na2CO3 = 106 g
168 g NaHCO3 can form 106 g of Na2CO3
1 g NaHCO3 can form g of Na2CO3
1.68 g NaHCO3 will form Na2CO3
How much Zinc should be treated with excess of dilute
hydrochloric acid to obtain 2.24 dm 3 of hydrogen at STP?
Zn + 2HCl ZnCl2 + H2

22.4 dm3 H2 can be produced by 65.38 g of Zn

1 dm3 H2 can be produced by g Zn

2.24 dm3 of H2 can then be produced by = 6.538 g Zn

• To perform stoichiometric calculations involving only two reaction
participants.

• It is necessary only to know the relative number of moles of each

and their molar masses.

• The most straightforward type of stoichiometric calculation is the

mole ratio.

• The mole ratio a means of performing stoichiometric calculations

based upon the constant ratios of the numbers of moles of various
reactants and products regardless of the overall quantity of reaction
taking place.
 

 
 
 Example
Hydrogen gas (H2) reacts with carbon monoxide gas (CO)
to produce methane (CH4), a methanation reaction used in
the petroleum and synthetic fuels industry for the
manufacture of non-polluting synthetic natural gas.

Calculate the mass of H2 required to produce 4.00 g of

CH4.
The balanced equation for the reaction is given below:
 

 
The number of moles of CH4 produced is calculated using Equation 1:
 

 
But 1 mole of CH4 was produced from 3 moles of H2.

Therefore, 0.250 moles of CH4 would require 3 × 0. 250

moles of H2 = 0.75 moles of H2.

Equation 1 could be re-written as:

 
• In a water treatment plant, calcium hydroxide (slake
lime), Ca(OH)2 and iron(III) sulphate, Fe(SO4)3, were
reacted to prepare gelatinous iron(III) hydroxide, Fe(OH)3
for removal of suspended matter (turbidity) from water.

• Suppose that a mass of 1000 g of Fe(SO4)3 is to be used to

treat a tankful of water. What mass of Ca(OH)2 is required
to react with the Fe(SO4)3?
 
Answer
The balanced equation for the reaction is:

Using equation 1:

 
But 1 mole of Fe(SO4)3 requires 3 moles of Ca(OH)2.
Therefore, 2.5025 moles of Fe(SO4)3 would require 3 ×
2.5025
moles of Ca(OH)2 = 7.5075 moles of Ca(OH)2.
1.453 g of pure anhydrous sodium carbonate, Na2C03 was
weighed and dissolved in a 250cm3 standard flask.

The solution was made up to mark with distilled water.

Calculate the molarity of the solution.
Calculation
(1)
 

(2)

Molar mass of Na2C03 = 106 g/mol

No. of moles of Na2CO3 in the solution
= mass/molar mass
= 1.453 g/106 = 0.01371 moles
 volume = 250 cm3 /1000 =0.25
Molarity = 0.0548 M

Or

Using equation 2:
M