Chapter 3.

Chemical Reactions
and Stoichiometry

CHM 1110 – Fall 25

Writing and Balancing Chemical Equations
• Reactions involve chemical changes in matter resulting in new substances.

• Reactions involve rearrangement and exchange of atoms to produce new

molecules.

Reactants  Products

• A chemical reaction is a written statement.

• It states the quantities, the chemical identity of the substances in the
reaction, and their physical state.

CH4(g) + 2 O2(g)  CO2(g) + 2 H2O(l)

Chemical Equations
Provide information about the reaction

• Molecular or ionic formulas of reactants and products

• States of reactants and products

• Gas (g), liquid (l), solid (s), and aqueous (aq)

• Relative numbers of reactant and product molecules that are required

• Can be used to determine weights of reactants used and products that can be
made
Quantities in Chemical Reactions

• The amount of every substance used and made in a chemical reaction is related
to the amounts of all the other substances in the reaction.

• The study of the numerical relationship between chemical quantities in a

chemical reaction is called stoichiometry.

Reactants Products
1 C atom (1 x CH4) 1 C atom (1 x CO2)
4 H atom (1 x CH4) 4 H atom (2 x H2O)
4 O atom (2 x O2) 4 O atom (1 x CO2 + 2 x H2O)
Balancing Chemical Equations
Change coefficients NOT subscripts
Simple Patterns of Chemical Reactivity

• Combination: Two or more reactants combine to form a single product

A+BC

• Decomposition: A single reactant breaks apart to form two or more substances

CA+B

• Combustion: A hydrocarbon (CxHyOz) burns in oxygen (O2) resulting in CO2 and

water (H2O)
C3H8(g) + 5 O2(g)  3 CO2(g) + 4 H2O(g) Remember
this!
Balancing Chemical Equations
1. Balance atoms that occur in more complex substances first

2. Pure elements on either side of the equation should be last

3. If you have polyatomic ions on both sides, treat them as single units

4. Recognize odd vs. even pairs and make it even on both sides of the reaction

5. If the balanced equation contains coefficient fractions, clear these by multiplying the
entire equation by the denominator of the fraction.
Balancing Chemical Equations

SO2(g) + O2(g) SO3(g)

molecules collide
and reaction occurs

reactants products
Algebraic Approach

a C4H10 (g) + b O2 (g)  c CO2 (g) + d H2O (g)

Start point: Reactants Products

a=1
C 4a 1c
H 10 a 2d
O 2b 2c+1d
Practice – Balancing Chemical Equations
Consider the molecular view of reactants converted to a product in the boxes shown
below:

nitrogen
oxygen
chlorine

Write a balanced equation that best represents this reaction (consider all the molecules
in gas phase)?
Practice – Balancing Chemical Equations
Na (s) + Cl2 (g) NaCl (s)

C2H6 (g) + O2 (g) CO2 (g) + H2O (l)

Li (s) + HNO3 (aq) LiNO3 (aq) + H2 (g)

Al (s) + O2 (g) Al2O3 (s)

Practice – Balancing Chemical Equations
Write a balanced equation for the reaction between solid cobalt(III) oxide and solid
carbon that produces solid cobalt and carbon dioxide gas.
Practice – Balancing Chemical Equations
Write a balanced equation for the combustion of gaseous butane (C4H10), a fuel
used in portable stoves and grills, in which it combines with gaseous oxygen to
form gaseous carbon dioxide and gaseous water.
This is molecular
oxygen!
Practice – Balancing Chemical Equations
Write a balanced equation for the reaction between aqueous strontium chloride
and aqueous lithium phosphate to form solid strontium phosphate and aqueous
lithium chloride.
The Mole: Chemist’s “Dozen”

All matter is particulate and countable

Atoms are small so need a count that translates macro and micro
• Mole is the amount of material containing 6.02214 x 1023 particles
• This number is called Avogadro’s number, symbolized by NA
Practice - Moles to Particles
1 mole of particles = 6.0221 x 1023 particles

How many moles is 3.24x1024 Si atoms?

How many atoms in 0.896 mol of Ag?

Mole and Mass

• Relationship of mole and atomic mass:

• Value of mole is the exact 12 g of pure carbon-12

• 12 g C-12 = 1 mol C-12 = 6.022 x 1023 particles C-12

Carbon-12 molar mass = 12 g/mol

• Where can I find information about a compounds

molar mass (g/mol)?
Molar Mass of Compounds
• Calculating Compound Molar Mass
Molar mass of Al2(CO3)3?
Al2(CO3)3 = (2 Al) + (3 C) + ((3 x 3) O)
o Molar mass of Al = 26.981 g/mol
o Molar mass of C = 12.011 g/mol = (2 x 26.981) + (3 x 12.011) + (9 x 15.999)
o Molar mass of O = 15.999 g/mol = 233.986 g/mol

• Calculating moles of atoms in a compound

Mole is a quantity measure equals to 6.022 x 1023 particles. A mole of CO2, will have
one mole of carbon atoms and two moles of oxygen atoms.
Practice – Molar Mass

• What is the molar mass of NaCl?

• How many NaCl moles are there in 12.8 g of NaCl?

• How many NaCl particles are there in 20.5 g of NaCl?

Practice – Molar Mass

• How many moles of carbon are in 10 moles of Al2(CO3)3?

• How many atoms of aluminum are in 5.0 g of Al2(CO3)3?

Mass to Moles to Number of Atoms

MASS MASS
of element of compound

Molar Mass Molar Mass

MOLES Chemical Formula MOLES

of element of compound

Avogadro’s Avogadro’s
number (NA) number (NA)

ATOMS ATOMS
of element of compound
Practice – Calculations
One teaspoon is equivalent of 4 g of table sugar (C12H22O11). How many molecules
of sugar do we have in one teaspoon?

• Step 1: Calculations steps needed? g --------------> moles -------------> molecules

• Step 2: What is the molar mass of table sugar?

• Step 3: Dimensional Analysis

• Step 4: Check sig figs and units!

Percent Composition
• Relative quantities of each element in a compound

• The percentage of each element in a compound can be determined from

1. the formula of the compound; and
2. the experimental mass analysis of the compound.

mass of element Z in 1 mol of compound

% mass of element Z = × 100%
mass of 1 mol of compound

• The percentages may not always total to 100% due to rounding.

Practice – Percent Composition
What is the mass percent composition of F in chlorofluorocarbon CCl2F2?

What is the percent composition of carbon in glucose (C6H12O6)?

Element to Compound Mass Calculation

Determine the mass of carbon in 14 g of glucose. Given %comp of C = 39.99%

1) Percent Composition

2) Dimensional Analysis
Chemical Formula from Experimental Data
Empirical Formula: Simplest whole-number ratio of the atoms of elements in a
compound
• How can we determine Empirical Formula?
• Percent Composition
• Elemental Analysis - Masses of elements formed when a compound is
decomposed, or that react together to form a compound

• Which compounds have the same empirical formula?

NO2 NO N2O4
• What is the percent composition of N?
Finding an Empirical Formula
1. Convert the percentages to grams: Assume 100 g of the compound.

2. Convert mass (grams) to moles of each element.

3. Divide all by the smallest number of moles to obtain the atom-to-atom

ratio for each of the elements in the compound.

4. Multiply all mole ratios by a common number to make all whole numbers
(if needed).
Practice – Formula from Experimental Data
A compound is decomposed to give 74.03% of carbon, 8.70% of hydrogen
and 17.27% of nitrogen. What is the empirical formula of the molecule?
From Empirical to Molecular Formula
• The molecular formula is a multiple of the empirical formula.
• It is the actual formula of the compound.

• To determine the molecular formula, you need to know the empirical formula
and the molar mass of the compound.
Molecular formula = n x (empirical formula)
where n is a positive integer

• Molar mass is a whole-number multiple of the empirical formula molar mass:

Practice – From Empirical to Molecular Formula

A compound has the empirical formula CH and a molar mass of 78.11 g/mol.
What is the molecular formula?
Let’s Make Pizza
+ 5 oz +

Numerical relationship:
1 crust : 5 oz. sauce : 2 cups cheese : 1 pizza

• If we have 15 oz. tomato sauce how many pizzas can we make? *Assuming we
have enough of everything else.

• How many cups of cheese do we need to make 40 pizzas?

Reaction Stoichiometry
• The coefficients in a chemical reaction specify the relative amounts in moles of
each of the substances involved in the reaction.

2 C8H18(l) + 25 O2(g) 16 CO2(g) + 18 H2O(g)

• What the above BALANCED chemical equation says:

Combustion of C8H18
How many moles of CO2 form if 22.0 moles of C8H18 are combusted (burned)?

• Balanced chemical reaction:

2 C8H18(l) + 25 O2(g) 16 CO2(g) + 18 H2O(g)

• Stoichiometric ratio from balanced reaction:

2 moles C8H18 : 16 moles CO2

• Calculation:
22.0 mol C8H18 16 mol CO2
= 176 mol CO2
2 mol C8H18
Practice - Stoichiometry
2 C8H18(l) + 25 O2(g) 16 CO2(g) + 18 H2O(g)

How many moles of O2 does the combustion of 30 moles of C8H18 consumes?

If 80 moles of CO2 are formed, how many moles of C8H18 was combusted?
Stoichiometry Road Map
Practice - Mass-to-Mass Conversion
2 C8H18(l) + 25 O2(g) 16 CO2(g) + 18 H2O(g)

How many grams of CO2 are formed from the combustion of 10.0 g of C8H18?
• Molar mass of C8H18 = 114.23 g/mol; Molar mass of CO2 = 44.01 g/mol

How many molecules of CO2 are formed from the combustion of 10.0 g of C8H18?
Combustion of H2
Consider the following balanced reaction:
2 H2 (g) + O2 (g)  2 H2O (l)
a) What mass of H2O is produced from the complete combustion of 7.50 g of H2?

b) What mass of O2 is required to react with 7.50 g H2?

Practice - Mass-to-Mass Conversion
In photosynthesis, plants convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose (C6H12O6)
according to the reaction:
6 CO2(g) + 6 H2O(l) 6 O2(g) + C6H12O6(aq)
Suppose you determine that a particular plant consumes 37.8 g of CO2 in one week.
Assuming that there is more than enough water present to react with all of the CO2, what
mass of glucose (in grams) can the plant synthesize from the CO2?
• Molar mass of C6H12O6 = 180.2 g/mol; Molar mass of CO2 = 44.01 g/mol
Practice - Mass-to-Mass Conversion
Magnesium hydroxide, the active ingredient in milk of magnesia, neutralizes stomach
acid, primarily HCl, forming magnesium chloride and water.
• Write the balanced equation for this reaction?

• What mass of HCl, in grams, is neutralized by a dose of milk of magnesia containing

3.26 g of Magnesium hydroxide?
Limiting Reagents

Number
of mols
A+BC

A B C
Limiting Reagents

Number
of mols
A+BC Number
of mols
2A+BC
1 – Limiting reagent will be fully consumed
2 – Limiting reagent limits the amount of product form
3 – Stoichiometric relation must be considered

A B C A B C
Definitions
• Limiting reactant - the reactant that makes the least amount of product.
• The limiting reactant are completely consumed.

• Excess reactants – the reactant that is in greater quantity than is required to

completely react.
• Excess reactants are NOT completely consumed.

• Theoretical yield - The amount of product that can be made from the limiting
reactant.
Conceptual Practice
Reaction of hydrogen and oxygen to form water:
2 H2(g) + O2(g) 2 H2O(g)
Reaction
If we have 10.0 moles of H2 and 7.0 moles of O2,
how many moles of H2O are produced?
Before After

What is the limiting reagent, excess reagent, and theoretical yield?

Practice – Limiting Reagents

If we have 10.0 moles of CO and 10.0 moles of O2 reacting to produce CO2, how many
moles of CO2 can we make? Which reactant is the limiting reagent?
Conceptual Practice
Reaction of hydrogen and oxygen to form water:
2 H2(g) + O2(g) 2 H2O(g)
Reaction
If we have 10.0 moles of H2 and 7.0 moles of O2,
how many moles of H2O are produced?
Before After

What is the limiting reagent, excess reagent, and theoretical yield?

Conceptual Practice
Reaction of hydrogen and oxygen to form water:
2 H2(g) + O2(g) 2 H2O(g) Let's change from
moles to grams!
If we have 10.0 grams of H2 and 7.0 grams of O2, how many
grams of H2O are produced?

What is the limiting reagent, excess reagent, and theoretical yield?

Practice 2 – Limiting Reagents

Ammonia, NH3, can be synthesized by the reaction:

2 NO(g) + 5 H2(g) 2 NH3(g) + 2 H2O(g)
Starting with 86.3 g NO and 25.6 g H2, find the limiting reagent and the theoretical yield of
ammonia in grams.
Percent Yield
• The actual amount of product made in a chemical reaction is called the actual
yield.

• Actual yield depends on the efficiency of the reaction.

• To determine the efficiency of your reaction, a percentage value can be calculated.
• In chemical reactions, this is called a percent yield.
Actual yield

Theoretical yield
Practice – Limiting Reactant / Percent Yield
We can obtain titanium metal from its oxide according to the following unbalanced
equation:
TiO2(s) + C(s) Ti(s) + CO(g)
When 28.6 g of C reacts with 88.2 g of titanium (IV) oxide, 42.8 g of titanium is produced.
Find the limiting reactant, excess reactant, theoretical yield (in g), and percent yield.
Summary

• The limiting reactant (or limiting reagent) is the reactant that is completely
consumed in a chemical reaction and limits the amount of product.

• The reactant in excess is any reactant that occurs in a quantity greater than is
required to completely react with the limiting reactant.

• The theoretical yield is the amount of product that can be made in a chemical
reaction based on the amount of limiting reactant.

• The actual yield is the amount of product actually produced by a chemical

reaction.

• The percent yield is calculated as: