Chapter 4:
Chemical Reactions
and Stoichiometry
Introduction
• In any given physical or chemical change, matter is neither destroyed nor created.
• Mass of products formed must equal the mass of reactants entering the chemical
reaction
• Chemical reaction is defined as a process where the bonds of reactant molecules
break and new bonds form to generate the product, without changing any elements.
Introduction
• Chemical reactions are represented by chemical
equations, which show reactants on the left side and products on
the right side.
• The first step in stoichiometry is to balance the chemical equation
and determine the stoichiometric coefficients of both the reactants
and products.
• Stoichiometry is a mathematical representation of the chemical
reaction, which is the relationship between the various amounts of
species in the reaction.
Chemical Equations
• The number and types of reactant atoms has to equal the number and
types of product atoms.
• For example, consider the following generic balanced chemical reaction
between reactant molecules A and B to form product molecules C and
D:
• The lower case letters a, b, c, and d are known as coefficients.
Chemical Equations
• We can apply these principles to the chemical reaction between
methane and oxygen:
• One molecule of CH4 reacts with 2 molecules of O2 to produce
1 molecule of CO2 and 2 molecules of H2O. To count the total
number of individual atoms, coefficients are multiplied by the
subscripts
Or
• One mole of CH4 reacts with 2 moles of O2 to produce 1 mole
of CO2 and 2 moles of H2O.
Chemical Equations
CH4 + 2O2 CO2 + 2H2O
Regardless of the absolute number of molecules involved, the ratios
between numbers of molecules are the same as that given in the chemical
equation.
Balancing Reactions
• Consider the following unbalanced chemical equation:
C2H6 + O2 → CO2 + H2O.
• There are 2 carbons on the reactant side and 1 carbon on the product
side. Hence, a coefficient of 2 is required for CO2.
• Counting H atoms, we get 6 on the reactant side and 2 on the product
side. A coefficient of 3 is needed for H2O.
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Chemical Stoichiometry
• We often use stoichiometry in our daily lives without knowing it.
• Manufacturing or assembling a bicycle is a very good example of stoichiometry.
• One bicycle is made from two wheels, one frame, one handlebar, two pedals, and
one seat.
Chemical Stoichiometry
• The above numbers are equivalent to stoichiometric coefficients and are
referred to as the number of moles of the reactants and products.
• If one component is known, then we can use these stoichiometric
coefficients to determine the amounts needed of the other components
to assemble
Chemical Stoichiometry
• The number of bicycles that can be assembled can also
be determined using a stoichiometric relationship:
Mole-to-Mole Conversions
aA + bB → cC + dD
• a, b, c, and d are the stoichiometric coefficients
• If the number of moles of A is given, then we can determine mathematically
the number of moles of B needed to react with A as follows:
Reaction Stoichiometry
N2(g) + 3H2(g) 2NH3(g)
• If 21.00 g of N2 are allowed to react with excess H2, what mass
of ammonia is formed?
Know: grams of N2 Want: grams of NH3
(1) (3)
(2)
moles of N2 moles of NH3
𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚
(1) 21.00 𝑔𝑔 𝑁𝑁2 × = 0.7496 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑁𝑁2
28.014 𝑔𝑔 𝑁𝑁2
2 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁3
(2) 0.7496 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑁𝑁2 × = 1.49925 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁3
1 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑁𝑁2
17.031 𝑔𝑔
(3) 1.49925 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁3 × = 25.53 𝑔𝑔 𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁3
𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁3
13
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The Limiting Reactant
• The limiting reactant is the reactant that limits the amount of product that
can be formed. The limiting reactant is always completely consumed during
the course of the reaction.
• An excess reactant is defined as any of the other reactants still present after
the consumption of the limiting reactant.
The Limiting Reactant
• Now consider a chemical process.
o H2(g) + Cl2(g) ⟶ 2HCl(g)
Limiting reactant?
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The Percent Yield
• Chemical reactions sometimes appear to not proceed according to the
stoichiometric coefficients. A reason for this is that most reactions have
“side reactions,” which compete for reactants and produce undesired
products.
• As a result, some of the reactants will be used while some will be left over
when the reaction is completed.
• It is important to determine the efficiency of a chemical reaction.
Percent Yield
• How much product is synthesized in ideal conditions is called the theoretical yield
• The amount of product actually produced by a reaction (i.e., in the lab) will usually
be less than the theoretical yield and is referred to as the actual yield.
• Chemists refer to the percent yield of the chemical reaction, which is
mathematically represented as follows:
Percent Yield
• Suppose you mixed enough chocolate chip cookie dough to make 12
chocolate chip cookies according to the recipe. However, you end up
with only 10 chocolate chip cookies.
Percent Yield Example
a) Calculate the % yield for the following reaction:
2 Al + 3 Cl2 → 2 AlCl3
Knowing that we start with 0.362 g of Al and 0.945 g of Cl2 to
produce 0.420 g of AlCl3.
b) How many grams of reactant are left over?
Percent Yield Example
Step #1: Calculate the limiting reactant Cl2
Step #2: Calculate the percent yield 35.6%
Step #3: How much aluminum is left over after the reaction? 0.124 g
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Chemical Reactions in Aqueous Solutions
• A solution is defined as any homogenous mixture that is
physically and chemically the same throughout the whole system.
• A solution has two main components:
- the solvent (present in large amounts; water in the case of
aqueous solutions),
- the solute, the substance that is dissolved in the solute and
usually present in relatively small amounts.
• There can be more than one solute in a solution, but there is never
more than one solvent.
Chemical Reactions in Aqueous Solutions
Molarity
• To track and quantify the amount of solute added to water to make an
aqueous solution, we use solution concentration to express the amount
of solute present in a solution.
• This is known as molarity (M) and is mathematically expressed as
follows:
Solubility, Non-electrolytes and Electrolytes
• Ionic solids and some polar compounds, such as strong acids
and strong bases, tend to have the highest solubility and form
ions when dissolved in water.
• The result is an electrolyte solution, which is defined as any
aqueous solution that conducts electricity.
Solubility, Non-electrolytes and Electrolytes
• Examples of strong electrolytes include ionic compounds such
as sodium chloride (NaCl), strong bases such as potassium
hydroxide (KOH), and strong acids like hydrochloric acid (HCl)
and nitric acid (HNO3).
• On the other hand, when other compounds, such as weak
acids and weak bases, dissolve in water, fewer ions are
produced, resulting in lower conductivity These are called weak
electrolytes.
Solubility, Non-electrolytes and Electrolytes
• Both acetic acid (CH3COOH, weak acid) and ammonia (NH3,
weak base) are considered examples of weak electrolytes.
• Non-electrolytes are substances that dissolve in water to form neutral
molecules and have essentially no effect on electrical conductivity
• Examples of non-electrolytes that are very soluble in water (but essentially
non-conductive) are ethanol (C2H6O), ethylene glycol (C2H6O2), glucose
(C6H12O6), and sucrose (C12H22O11).
Solubility, Non-electrolytes and Electrolytes