Chapter 3

Stoichiometry:
Calculations with
Chemical Formulas and
Equations
Stoichiometry
Law of Conservation of Mass

Lavoisier observed that mass

is conserved in a chemical
reaction.
This observation is known as
the law of conservation of
mass.

Stoichiometry
 Chemical Equations
Chemical equations give a concise
representations of chemical reactions.
There are two parts to any equation:
reactants and products

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 right of Stoichiometry
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
Reaction
Types

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)
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)
C3H8 (g) + 5 O2 (g) 3 CO2 (g) + 4 H2O (g) Stoichiometry
Formula
Weights

Stoichiometry
 Formula Weight (FW)
Sum of the atomic weights for the atoms
in a chemical formula
So, the formula weight OR 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 or Mass
Percent
One can find the percentage of the mass of
a compound that comes from each of the
elements in the compound by using this
equation:

(number of atoms)(atomic weight)

% element = x 100
(FW of the compound)

Stoichiometry
 Percent Composition
So the percentage of carbon in C2H6 is

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

Stoichiometry
 Avogadros Number

6.02 x 1023
1 mole of 12C has a mass of 12 g

Moles provide a bridge from the molecular scale to

the real-world scale
Stoichiometry
 Molar Mass
By definition, the molar mass is 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 molecular or formula weight is given in
amus

Stoichiometry
 Mole Relationships

One mole of atoms, ions, or molecules contains

Avogadros number of those particles
One mole of molecules in a compound contains
Avogadros number times the number of atoms or
ions of each element in the compound Stoichiometry
 Finding
Empirical
Formulas
Stoichiometry
 Calculating Empirical Formulas

One can calculate the empirical formula from the

the mass percent

Stoichiometry
Calculating Empirical Formulas

The compound para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) is

composed of carbon (61.31%), hydrogen (5.14%),
nitrogen (10.21%), and oxygen (23.33%). Find the
empirical formula of PABA.

Stoichiometry
Calculating Empirical Formulas
Assuming 100 g of para-aminobenzoic acid,

C: 61.31 g x 1 mol = 5.105 mol C

12.01 g
1 mol
H: 5.14 g x = 5.09 mol H
1.01 g
1 mol
N: 10.21 g x = 0.7288 mol N
14.01 g
1 mol
O: 23.33 g x = 1.456 mol O
16.00 g

Stoichiometry
Calculating Empirical Formulas
Calculate the mole ratio by dividing by the smallest number
of moles: 5.105 mol
C: = 7.005 7
0.7288 mol

5.09 mol
H: = 6.984 7
0.7288 mol

0.7288 mol
N: = 1.000
0.7288 mol

1.458 mol
O: = 2.001 2
0.7288 mol
Stoichiometry
Calculating Empirical Formulas
These are the subscripts for the empirical
formula:

C7H7NO2

The empirical formula may not be

the molecular formula (actual ratio
of elements in the molecule).

Example: ascorbic acid (vitamin C) has

the empirical formula C3H4O3.
The molecular formula is C6H8O6. Stoichiometry
 EmpiricalFormula: a formula
which has been reduced with
regards to subscripts to the
lowest integer whole number.

Molecularformula: a formula of
a compound in which the
subscripts give the actual
number of each element in the
formula Stoichiometry
An empirical formula tells the ratio of
atoms in a molecule

A molecular formula tells exactly

how many of each atom are in the
molecule.

Stoichiometry
 Examples:

Molecular Empirical 1. The molecular

Formula Formula formula and the
empirical formula can
H2O H2O
be identical.
C2H4O2 CH2O
2. You scale up from
the empirical formula
CH2O CH2O
to the molecular
formula by a whole
number factor.
C6H12O6 CH2O
Stoichiometry
 Combustion Analysis
Empirical formulas are routinely determined by combustion
analysis.
A sample containing C, H, and O is combusted in excess of
oxygen to produce CO2 and H2O.
The amount of CO2 gives the amount of C originally present in
the sample.
The amount of H2O gives the amount of H originally present in
the sample.

Stoichiometry
 Example 1
1.50
g sample of hydrocarbon undergoes
complete combustion to produce 4.40 g of
CO2 and 2.70 g of H2O. What is the
empirical formula of this compound?

Stoichiometry
 Answer
1) Determine the grams of carbon in 4.40 g CO2 and the grams of hydrogen in
2.70 g H2O.
carbon: 4.40 g x (12.011 g / 44.0098 g) = 1.20083 g
hydrogen: 2.70 g x (2.0158 g / 18.0152 g) = 0.3021482 g

2) Convert grams of C and H to their respective amount of moles.

carbon: 1.20083 g / 12.011 g/mol = 0.09998 mol
hydrogen: 0.3021482 g / 1.0079 g/mol = 0.2998 mol

Divide each molar amount by the lowest value, seeking to modify the above molar amounts
into small, whole numbers.
carbon: 0.09998 mol / 0.09998 mol = 1
hydrogen: 0.2998 mol / 0.09998 mol = 2.9986 = 3

The empirical formula of the substance is CH3 Stoichiometry

 Example 2
0.2500 g sample of a compound known to
contain carbon, hydrogen and oxygen
undergoes complete combustion to
produce 0.3664 g of CO2 and 0.1500 g of
H2O. What is the empirical formula of this
compound?

Stoichiometry
 Answer
1a) Determine the grams of carbon in 0.3664 g CO2 and the grams of hydrogen in
0.1500 g H2O.
carbon: 0.3664 g x (12.011 g / 44.0098 g) = 0.1000 g
hydrogen: 0.1500 g x (2.0158 g / 18.0152 g) = 0.01678 g

1b) Determine the grams of oxygen in the sample by subtraction.

0.2500 - (0.1000 g + 0.01678) = 0.1332 g

2) Convert grams of C, H and O to their respective amount of moles.

carbon: 0.3554 g / 12.011 g / mol = 0.008325 mol
hydrogen: 0.01678 g / 1.0079 g/mol = 0.01665 mol
oxygen: 0.1332 g / 15.9994 g/mol = 0.008327 mol
Divide each molar amount by the lowest value, seeking to modify the molar amounts into
small, whole numbers.
carbon: 0.008325 mol / 0.008325 mol = 1
hydrogen: 0.01665 mol / 0.008325 mol = 2
oxygen: 0.008327 mol / 0.008325 mol = 1 Stoichiometry
The empirical formula of the substance is CH2O
 Limiting
Reactants
Stoichiometry
 Limiting Reactants
The limiting reagent is the reactant that limits the
reaction.
The limiting reagent is the reactant that run out first
and gets used up totally which causes the reaction to
stop.

Stoichiometry
Example of Limiting Reactants
If 20.0 g of Fe2O3 reacted with 8.00 g Al(s) in the following reaction, Which
reactant is limiting?.

Stoichiometry
 Answer

Mol of Al= 8/26.98 = 0.297 mole

Mol of Fe2O3 = 20/159.7 = 0.127 mole
According to the equation: 1 mole of F2O3 requires
2 moles of Al. Thus, 0.127 mole of FeO3 requires
0.127 x 2 =0.254 moles Of Al.
Fe2O3 is the limiting reagent since we start with an
excess of Al (0.297 moles).
0.297-0.254= 0.043 moles of Al is left at the end of the
reaction.

Stoichiometry
 Theoretical Yield
The theoretical yield is the amount of product
that can be made.
In other words its the amount of product possible
as calculated through the stoichiometry Problem.
This is different from the
actual yield which is the amount one actually
produces and measures

Stoichiometry
 Percent Yield
A comparison of the amount actually
obtained to the amount it was possible to
make

Actual Yield
Percent Yield = Theoretical Yield x 100

Stoichiometry
 Practice Exercise
Q - What is the % yield of NH3 if 40.5 g NH3 is
produced from 20.0 mol H2 and excess N2?

Stoichiometry
 Answer
Step 1: write the balanced chemical equation
N2 + 3H2 2NH3
Step 2: determine actual and theoretical yield.
Actual is given, theoretical is calculated:

# g NH3= 20.0 mol H2 x 2 mol NH3 x 17.04 g NH3 = 227 g

3 mol H2 1 mol NH3
Step 3: Calculate % yield
% yield = actual x 100% = 40.5 g NH3 x 100% = 17.8%
theoretical 227 g NH3 Stoichiometry