Stoichiometry

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Stoichiometry /stkimtri/ is the calculation of relative quantities

of reactants and products in chemical reactions.
Stoichiometry is founded on the law of conservation of mass where the total mass of the
reactants equals the total mass of the products leading to the insight that the relations among
quantities of reactants and products typically form a ratio of positive integers. This means that if
the amounts of the separate reactants are known, then the amount of the product can be
calculated. Conversely, if one reactant has a known quantity and the quantity of product can be
empirically determined, then the amount of the other reactants can also be calculated.
As seen in the image to the right, where the balanced equation is:
CH
4+2O
2 CO
2+2H
2O.
Here, one molecule of methane reacts with two molecules of oxygen gas to yield one
molecule of carbon dioxide and two molecules water. Stoichiometry measures these
quantitative relationships, and is used to determine the amount of products/reactants that
are produced/needed in a given reaction. Describing the quantitative relationships among
substances as they participate in chemical reactions is known as reaction stoichiometry. In
the example above, reaction stoichiometry measures the relationship between the
methane and oxygen as they react to form carbon dioxide and water.
Because of the well known relationship of moles to atomic weights, the ratios that are
arrived at by stoichiometry can be used to determine quantities by weight in a reaction
described by a balanced equation. This is called composition stoichiometry.
Gas stoichiometry deals with reactions involving gases, where the gases are at a known
temperature, pressure, and volume and can be assumed to be ideal gases. For gases, the
volume ratio is ideally the same by the ideal gas law, but the mass ratio of a single reaction
has to be calculated from the molecular masses of the reactants and products. In practice,
due to the existence of isotopes, molar masses are used instead when calculating the
mass ratio.
Contents
[hide]

1 Etymology

2 Definition

3 Converting grams to moles

4 Molar proportions

5 Determining amount of product

o

5.1 Further examples

6 Stoichiometric ratio

7 Limiting reagent and percent yield

o

7.1 Example

8 Different stoichiometries in competing reactions

9 Stoichiometric coefficient

10 Stoichiometry matrix

11 Gas stoichiometry

12 Stoichiometric air-to-fuel ratios of common fuels

13 References

14 External links

Etymology[edit]
The term stoichiometry was first used by Jeremias Benjamin Richter in 1792 when the first
volume of Richter's Stoichiometry or the Art of Measuring the Chemical Elements was
published. The term is derived from the Greek words stoicheion "element" and
metron "measure". In patristic Greek, the word Stoichiometria was used
byNicephorus to refer to the number of line counts of the canonical New Testament and
some of the Apocrypha.

Definition[edit]
A stoichiometric amount or stoichiometric ratio of a reagent is the optimum amount or ratio
where, assuming that the reaction proceeds to completion:
1. All of the reagent is consumed
2. There is no deficiency of the reagent
3. There is no excess of the reagent.

Stoichiometry rests upon the very basic laws that help to understand it better, i.e., law of
conservation of mass, the law of definite proportions (i.e., the law of constant composition),
the law of multiple proportions and the law of reciprocal proportions. In general, chemical
reactions combine in definite ratios of chemicals. Since chemical reactions can neither
create nor destroy matter, nor transmute one element into another, the amount of each
element must be the same throughout the overall reaction. For example, the number of
atoms of a given element X on the reactant side must equal the number of atoms of that
element on the product side, whether or not all of those atoms are actually involved in a
reaction.
Chemical reactions, as macroscopic unit operations, consist of simply a very large number
of elementary reactions, where a single molecule reacts with another molecule. As the
reacting molecules (or moieties) consist of a definite set of atoms in an integer ratio, the
ratio between reactants in a complete reaction is also in integer ratio. A reaction may
consume more than one molecule, and the stoichiometric number counts this number,
defined as positive for products (added) and negative for reactants (removed). [1]
Different elements have a different atomic mass, and as collections of single atoms,
molecules have a definite molar mass, measured with the unit mole (6.02 1023 individual
molecules, Avogadro's constant). By definition, carbon-12 has a molar mass of 12 g/mol.
Thus, to calculate the stoichiometry by mass, the number of molecules required for each
reactant is expressed in moles and multiplied by the molar mass of each to give the mass
of each reactant per mole of reaction. The mass ratios can be calculated by dividing each
by the total in the whole reaction.
Elements in their natural state are mixtures of isotopes of differing mass, thus atomic
masses and thus molar masses are not exactly integers. For instance, instead of an exact
14:3 proportion, 17.04 kg of ammonia consists of 14.01 kg of nitrogen and 3 1.01 kg of
hydrogen, because natural nitrogen includes a small amount of nitrogen-15, and natural
hydrogen includes hydrogen-2 (deuterium).
A stoichiometric reactant is a reactant that is consumed in a reaction, as opposed to
a catalytic reactant, which is not consumed in the overall reaction because it reacts in one
step and is regenerated in another step.

Converting grams to moles[edit]

Stoichiometry is not only used to balance chemical equations but also used in conversions,
i.e., converting from grams to moles, or from grams to milliliters. For example, to find
the amount of NaCl (sodium chloride) in 2.00 g, one would do the following:

In the above example, when written out in fraction form, the units of grams form a
multiplicative identity, which is equivalent to one (g/g=1), with the resulting amount in
moles (the unit that was needed), is shown in the following equation,

Molar proportions[edit]
Stoichiometry is often used to balance chemical equations (reaction
stoichiometry). For example, the two diatomic gases, hydrogen and oxygen, can

combine to form a liquid, water, in an exothermic reaction, as described by the

following equation:
2H
2+O
22H
2O
Reaction stoichiometry describes the 2:1:2 ratio of hydrogen, oxygen, and
water molecules in the above equation.
The molar ratio allows for conversion between moles of one substance and
moles of another. For example, in the reaction
2 CH
3OH + 3 O
2 2 CO
2+4H
2O
the amount of water that will be produced by the combustion of 0.27
moles of CH
3OH is obtained using the molar ratio between CH
3OH and H
2O of 2 to 4.

The term stoichiometry is also often used for the molar proportions of
elements in stoichiometric compounds (composition stoichiometry).
For example, the stoichiometry of hydrogen and oxygen in H2O is 2:1.
In stoichiometric compounds, the molar proportions are whole
numbers.

Determining amount of product[edit]

Stoichiometry can also be used to find the quantity of a product
yielded by a reaction. If a piece of solid copper (Cu) were added to an
aqueous solution of silver nitrate (AgNO3), the silver (Ag) would be
replaced in a single displacement reaction forming aqueous copper(II)
nitrate (Cu(NO3)2) and solid silver. How much silver is produced if
16.00 grams of Cu is added to the solution of excess silver nitrate?
The following steps would be used:
1. Write and Balance the Equation
2. Mass to Mole: Convert g Cu to moles Cu
3. Mole Ratio: Convert moles of Cu to moles of Ag produced
4. Mole to Mass: Convert moles Ag to grams of Ag produced
The complete balanced equation would be:

Cu + 2 AgNO
3 Cu(NO
3)
2 + 2 Ag
For the mass to mole step, the mass of copper (16.00 g) would be
converted to moles of copper by dividing the mass of copper by
its molecular mass: 63.55 g/mol.

Now that the amount of Cu in moles (0.2518) is found, we can

set up the mole ratio. This is found by looking at the
coefficients in the balanced equation: Cu and Ag are in a 1:2
ratio.

Now that the moles of Ag produced is known to be 0.5036

mol, we convert this amount to grams of Ag produced to
come to the final answer:

This set of calculations can be further condensed into

a single step:

Further examples[edit]
For propane (C3H8) reacting with oxygen gas (O2),
the balanced chemical equation is:
C
3H
8+5O
2 3 CO
2+4H
2O
The mass of water formed if 120 g of
propane (C3H8) is burned in excess oxygen is
then

Stoichiometric ratio[edit]

Stoichiometry is also used to find the

right amount of one reactant to
"completely" react with the other reactant
in a chemical reaction - that is, the
stoichiometric amounts that would result
in no leftover reactants when the reaction
takes place. An example is shown below
using the thermite reaction,
Fe
2O
3 + 2 Al Al
2O
3 + 2 Fe
This equation shows that 1 mole
of iron(III) oxide and 2 moles
of aluminum will produce 1 mole
of aluminium oxide and 2 moles
of iron. So, to completely react with
85.0 g ofiron(III) oxide (0.532 mol),
28.7 g (1.06 mol) of aluminium are
needed.

Limiting reagent and

percent yield[edit]
Main articles: Limiting
reagent and Yield (chemistry)
The limiting reagent is the
reagent that limits the amount of
product that can be formed and
is completely consumed during
the reaction. The excess
reactant is the reactant that is
left over once the reaction has
stopped due to the limiting
reactant.
Consider the equation of
roasting lead(II) sulfide (PbS) in
oxygen (O2) to produce lead(II)
oxide (PbO) and sulfur
dioxide (SO2):
2 PbS + 3 O
2 2 PbO + 2 SO
2

To determine the theoretical

yield of lead(II) oxide if 200.0
g of lead(II) sulfide and

200.0 grams of oxygen are

heated in an open container:

Because a lesser
amount of PbO is
produced for the
200.0 g of PbS, it is
clear that PbS is the
limiting reagent.
In reality, the actual
yield is not the same
as the
stoichiometricallycalculated
theoretical yield.
Percent yield, then,
is expressed in the
following equation:

If 170.0 g of
lead(II) oxide is
obtained, then
the percent yield
would be
calculated as
follows:

Example[
edit]
Consider
the
following
reaction, in
which iron(II
I)
chloride rea
cts
with hydrog
en sulfide to
produce iro

n(III)
sulfide and
hydrogen
chloride:
2 FeCl
3+3H
2S Fe
2S
3 + 6 HCl
Suppos
e 90.0 g
of
FeCl3 re
acts
with
52.0 g
of H2 S.
To find
the
limiting
reagent
and the
mass of
HCl
produce
d by the
reaction
, we
could
set up
the
followin
g
equatio
ns:

T
h
u
s
,
t
h
e

l
i
m
i
t
i
n
g
r
e
a
g
e
n
t
i
s
F
e
C
l
3

a
n
d
t
h
e
a
m
o
u
n
t
o
f
H
C
l
p
r
o
d
u

c
e
d
i
s
6
0
.
8
g
.
T
o
f
i
n
d
w
h
a
t
m
a
s
s
o
f
e
x
c
e
s
s
r
e
a
g
e
n
t
(
H

S
)
r
e
m
a
i
n
s
a
f
t
e
r
t
h
e
r
e
a
c
t
i
o
n
,
w
e
w
o
u
l
d
s
e
t
u
p
t
h
e
c

a
l
c
u
l
a
t
i
o
n
t
o
f
i
n
d
o
u
t
h
o
w
m
u
c
h
H
2

S
r
e
a
c
t
s
c
o
m
p
l
e
t
e
l
y

w
i
t
h
t
h
e
9
0
.
0
g
F
e
C
l
3

By
subt
racti
ng
this
amo
unt
from
the
origi
nal
amo
unt
of
H2S,
we
can
com
e to
the
ans
wer:

Diffe
rent
stoic
hiom
etries
in
comp
eting
reacti
ons[e
dit]
Often,
more
than
one
reaction
is
possible
given
the
same
starting
material
s. The
reaction
s may
differ in
their
stoichio
metry.
For
example
,
the met
hylation
of benze
ne (C6H6
),
through
a Friede
l-Crafts
reaction
using Al
Cl3 as a
catalyst,
may
produce
singly

methylat
ed
(C6H5CH
3,)
doubly
methylat
ed
(C6H4(C
H3)2), or
still
more
highly
methylat
ed
(C6H6n(CH3)n)
products
, as
shown
in the
followin
g
example
,
C6H6 + CH3Cl C6H5CH3 + HCl
C6H6 + 2 CH3Cl C6H4(CH3)2 + 2 HCl
C6H6 + n CH3Cl C6H6-n(CH3)n + n HCl

In this example,
which reaction take
place is controlled
part by the
relative concentrati
ns of the reactants

Stoichiometr
c
coefficient[ed
]

In lay terms,
the stoichiometric
coefficient (or stoic
ometric number in
the IUPAC
nomenclature[2]) of
any given
component is the
number of molecul
that participate in th
reaction as written.
For example, in the

reaction CH4 + 2
O2 CO2 + 2 H2O,
the stoichiometric
coefficient of CH4 is
-1, the stoichiometr
coefficient of O2 is
-2, for CO2 it would
be +1 and for H2O
is +2.

In more technically
precise terms, the
stoichiometric
coefficient in
a chemical
reaction system of
the ith componen
is defined as

or

where Ni is the num

of molecules of i, a
progress variable o
of reaction. [3]

The extent of reac

regarded as a real
product, one molec
produced each tim
event occurs. It is t
quantity describing
chemical reaction e
number of chemica
as indicated by the
on a molecular sca
Avogadro constant
the amount of chem
transformations). T
extent of reaction is
dnB/B, where B is t
number of any reac
(reactant or produc
corresponding amo

The stoichiometric
coefficient i repres
degree to which a c
species participate
reaction. The conv
to assign negative

coefficients
to reactants (which
consumed) and po
ones to products. H
any reaction may b
as "going" in the re
direction, and all th
coefficients then ch
(as does thefree en
Whether a reaction
actually will go in th
arbitrarily selected
direction or not dep
the amounts of
the substances pre
any given time, wh
determines
the kinetics and the
mics, i.e.,
whether equilibrium
the right or the left.

If one contemplate
actual reaction mec
stoichiometric coef
will always be integ
elementary reactio
involve whole mole
one uses a compos
representation of a
reaction, some ma
be rational fraction
are often chemical
present that do not
participate in a rea
stoichiometric coef
are therefore zero.
chemical species th
regenerated, such
a catalyst, also has
stoichiometric coef
zero.

The simplest possi

is an isomerism

in which B = 1 sinc
molecule of B is pr
time the reaction o
A = 1 since one m
of A is necessarily
any chemical react
the total mass cons

also the numbers o

each kind are cons
this imposes corres
constraints on poss
the stoichiometric c

There are usually m

reactions proceedin
simultaneously in
any natural reactio
including those in b
any chemical comp
participate in sever
simultaneously, the
stoichiometric coef
th component in th
is defined as

so that the total (di

in the amount of th
is

Extents of reaction
and most explicit w
compositional chan
not yet widely used

With complex reac

useful to consider b
of a reaction system
amounts of the che
(state variables), a
in terms of the actu
compositional degr
expressed by the e
{ k }. The transform
a vector expressing
vector expressing t
rectangular matrix
the stoichiometric c

The maximum and

k occur whenever
reactants is deplete
reaction; or the firs
depleted if the reac
being pushed in the
This is a purely kin
the reaction simple
composition space

whosedimensional
of linearly-independ
reactions. This is n
the number of chem
since each reaction
between at least tw
accessible region o
depends on the am
chemical species a
contingent fact. Dif
can even generate
all sharing the sam
stoichiometry.

In accord with the p

kinetics and thermo
every chemical rea
least to some degr
equilibrium point m
point of the simplex
extrema for the 's
an experimental sy
zero initial amounts

The number of phy

reactions can be ev
number of chemica
depends on the va
mechanisms. For e
two (or more) react
isomerism above. T
occur by itself, but
different intermedia
a catalyst.

The (dimensionless
to be molecules or
most commonly us
suggestive to pictu
chemical reactions
The N's and 's are
units by dividing by
While dimensional
used, the commen
then no longer app

Stoichiometr

Main article: Chem

theory

In complex reaction
often represented i
form called the stoi

stoichiometry matri
symbol .

If a reaction networ
and
participatin
then the stoichiome
corresponding
r

For example, cons

reactions shown be
S1 S2
5 S 3 + S2 4 S 3 + 2 S 2
S3 S4
S4 S5 .

This systems comp

molecular species.
system can be writ

where the rows cor

respectively. Note t
scheme into a stoic
transformation, for
reaction simplify wh
it is not always pos
scheme from a sto

Often the stoichiom

vector, , and the
equation describing
species:

Gas stoichiom

Gas stoichiometry
reactants and prod
produce gases. Ga
produced are assu
and volume of the
for these calculatio
temperature and pr
used as the conditi

Gas stoichiometry
unknown volume o
example, if we wan
NO2produced from
reaction:
4 NH3(g) + 7 O2(g) 4 NO2(g) + 6 H2O(l)

we would carry out

There is a 1:1 mola

reaction, so 5.871
law to solve for the
the gas law consta

Gas stoichiometry
given the density o
relation between th
and
and thus:

where:

P = absolute ga

V = gas volume

n = amount (me

R = universal id

T = absolute ga

= gas density

m = mass of ga

M = molar mas

Stoichiometr

See also: Airfuel r

In the combustion r
oxygen is consume
more oxygen (over
the combustion is i
(Unreacted fuel ma
fuel and oxygen - t
different contents o
varies.

Gasoline engines c
volatile and is mixe
engines, in contras
require. Diesel fuel

time for evaporatio

stoichiometric ratio

References[e
1.

Jump up^ goldb

2.

Jump up^ IUPA

by A. D. McNaug
line corrected ve
updates compile
Entry:"stoichiom

3.

Jump up^ Prigo

4.

Jump up^ IUPA

5.

Jump up^ John

6.

Jump up^ North

Zumdahl, Steve
148150.

Internal Combu

External link

Engine Combu

Free Stoichiom

Stoichiometry A
reaction coffic

Reaction Stoich
stoichiometry c

Stoichiometry C
stoichiometry.