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In these lessons, we will look into some examples of stoichiometry problems.
Stoichiometry is the calculation of quantitative relationships of the reactants and products in chemical reactions. Given enough information, we can use stoichiometry to calculate the moles and masses within a chemical equation.
Stoichiometry Road Map
The following Stoichiometry Road Map gives a summary of how to use stoichiometry to calculate moles, masses, volumes and particles in a chemical reaction. Scroll down the page for more examples and solutions.
How to use the Stoichiometry Road Map?
A stoichiometry roadmap is a visual guide or a step-by-step process to solve stoichiometry problems in chemistry. It helps you navigate the conversions between different units of reactants and products in a chemical reaction. While the exact format might vary slightly depending on the source, the core principles remain the same.
Optional Steps (Depending on the Problem):
Identify the Limiting Reactant: If the amounts of two or more reactants are given, you need to determine the limiting reactant (the one that gets used up first and limits the amount of product formed). This involves calculating the moles of each reactant and comparing their mole ratios to the balanced equation.
Calculate Percent Yield: If the actual yield of a product is given, you can calculate the percent yield.
What a chemical equation tells you?
The equation C (s) + O2 (g) → CO2 (g) tells you that:
The Ar values are: C = 12, O = 16.
The Mr values are: O2 = 32, CO2 = (12 + 32) = 44.
We can write: 12g of carbon reacts with 32g of oxygen to give 44g of carbon dioxide.
This also means that: 6g of carbon reacts with 16g of oxygen to give 22g of carbon dioxide and so on.
The masses of each substance taking part in the reaction are always in the same ratio.
In general, a chemical equation tells you:
How to calculate a stoichiometry problem?
Example:
A solution containing acetic acid is mixed with calcium carbonate. How much acetic acid is consumed in a
reaction which produces 0.400 mol CO2?
Take note of what happens to the total mass, during the above reaction:
mass of carbon and oxygen at the start: 12 g + 32 g = 44 g
mass of carbon dioxide at the end: 44 g
The total mass has not changed, during the reaction. This is because no atoms have disappeared. They have just been rearranged.
This is one of the basic laws of chemistry:
The total mass does not change during a chemical reaction.
Example:
Hydrogen burns in oxygen to form water. What mass of oxygen is needed to burn 1 gram of hydrogen, and what mass of water is obtained?
Solution:
Step 1: Write the balanced equation for the reaction.
2H2 (g) + O2 (g) → 2H2O (l)
Step 2: Write down the relative atomic mass (Ar) and the relative molecular mass (Mr), for each substance in the equation.
Ar: H = 1, O = 16
Mr: H2 = 2, O2 = 32, H2O = 18
Step 3: Using Ar or Mr, change the moles in the equation to grams.
Step 4: Find the actual masses.
4 g of hydrogen reacts with 32 g of oxygen to give 36 g of water.
The given question states that we need to burn 1 g of hydrogen.
So, 1 g of hydrogen reacts with 32 ÷ 4 = 8 g of oxygen to give 36 ÷ 4 = 9 g of water.
Example of calculating mass from equation
Example:
Br2 + 2NaI → I2 + 2NaBr
In this video, we will look at the steps to solving stoichiometry problems.
Stoichiometry problems
Example 1:
How many moles of ammonia are produced by 2.8 mol of hydrogen?
Example 2:
Determine the number of moles of oxygen needed to react with 0.56 mol of vanadium to form vanadium (V) oxide?
Example 3:
Carbon dioxide reacts with lithium hydroxide to produce lithium carbonate and water.
What mass of lithium hydroxide would be required to react with 1.00 x 103 grams of carbon dioxide?
Example 4:
How many moles of silver chloride forms when 2.6 mol of KCl reacts with excess silver nitrate in solution?
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