Stoichiometry:

Calculations with Chemical

Formulas and Equations

Stoichiometry
 Stoichiometry
The study of chemical change is at the heart
of chemistry
• Stoicheion  element
• Metron  measure
 area of study that examines the quantity of
substances consumed and produced in a
chemical reaction
– Exs:
• [ozone] in the atmosphere
• Potential yield of gold from it’s ore
• Assessing processes for converting coal into gaseous
fuels.
Stoichiometry
 Stoichiometry
The study of chemical change is at the
heart of chemistry
• Built on an understanding of atomic
masses, formulas, and the law of
conservation of mass
• And atoms are neither created nor
destroyed (i.e., not dealing with
nuclear reactions)
Stoichiometry
Law of Conservation of Mass
“We may lay it down as an
incontestable axiom that, in all
the operations of art and nature,
nothing is created; an equal
amount of matter exists both
before and after the experiment.
Upon this principle, the whole art
of performing chemical
experiments depends.”
--Antoine Lavoisier, 1789

Stoichiometry
 Chemical Equations
Concise representations of chemical
reactions
“Chemical Sentences”

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
 Examples:

• 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)
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)
Formula
Weights
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

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 ethane

is…

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

Stoichiometry
 Avogadro’s Number

• 6.02 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
 Finding
Empirical
Formulas
Stoichiometry
Calculating Empirical Formulas

One can calculate the empirical formula from

the percent composition

Stoichiometry
Calculating Empirical Formulas

The compound para-aminobenzoic acid (you may have

seen it listed as PABA on your bottle of sunscreen) 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 100.00 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

Stoichiometry
 Combustion Analysis

• 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
determined
Stoichiometry
Elemental Analyses

Compounds
containing other
elements are
analyzed using
methods analogous
to those used for C,
H and O

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
 Stoichiometric Calculations
C6H12O6 + 6 O2  6 CO2 + 6 H2O

Starting with 1.00 g of C6H12O6…

we calculate the moles of C6H12O6…
use the coefficients to find the moles of H2O… Stoichiometry

and then turn the moles of water to grams

 Limiting
Reactants
Stoichiometry
How Many Cookies Can I Make?

• You can make cookies

until you run out of one
of the ingredients
• Once this family runs
out of sugar, they will
stop making cookies
(at least any cookies
you would want to eat)

Stoichiometry
How Many Cookies Can I Make?

• In this example the

sugar would be the
limiting reactant,
because it will limit the
amount of cookies you
can make

Stoichiometry
 Limiting Reactants

The limiting reactant

is the reactant
present in the
smallest
stoichiometric
amount

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
 Limiting Reactants

In the example below, the O2 would be the

excess reagent

Stoichiometry
 Theoretical Yield

• The theoretical yield is the amount of

product that can be made
– 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 it was possible
to make

Actual Yield
Percent Yield = x 100
Theoretical Yield

Stoichiometry