Skip to main content
Chemistry LibreTexts

3: Module 3 - Stoichiometry

  • Page ID
    423615
  • \( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \) \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)\(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)\(\newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)

    • 3.1: Counting Nails by the Pound
      The size of molecule is so small that it is physically difficult, if not impossible, to directly count out molecules. However, we can count them indirectly by using a common trick of "counting by weighing".
    • 3.2: Counting Atoms by the Gram
      In chemistry, it is impossible to deal with a single atom or molecule because we can't see them or count them or weigh them. Chemists have selected a number of particles with which to work that is convenient. Since molecules are extremely small, you may suspect this number is going to be very large and you are right. The number of particles in this group is Avagadro's number and the name of this group is the mole.
    • 3.3: Counting Molecules by the Gram
      The molecular mass of a substance is the sum of the average masses of the atoms in one molecule of a substance. Calculations for formula mass and molecular mass are described. Calculations involving conversions between moles of a material and the mass of that material are described. Calculations are illustrated for conversions between mass and number of particles.
    • 3.4: Chemical Formulas as Conversion Factors
      Using formulas to indicate how many atoms of each element we have in a substance, we can relate the number of moles of molecules to the number of moles of atoms.  In any given formula the ratio of the number of moles of molecules (or formula units) to the number of moles of atoms can be used as a conversion factor.
    • 3.5: Mass Percent Composition of Compounds
      Chemists often need to know what elements are present in a compound and in what percentage. The percent composition is the percent by mass of each element in a compound.
    • 3.6: Mass Percent Composition from a Chemical Formula
      The percent composition of a compound can also be determined from the formula of the compound. The subscripts in the formula are first used to calculate the mass of each element in one mole of the compound. This is divided by the molar mass of the compound and multiplied by 100%.
    • 3.7: The Chemical Equation
      A chemical reaction is the process in which one or more substances are changed into one or more new substances. Chemical reactions are represented by chemical equations. Chemical equations have reactants on the left, an arrow that is read as "yields", and the products on the right.
    • 3.8: How to Write Balanced Chemical Equations
      In chemical reactions, atoms are never created or destroyed. The same atoms that were present in the reactants are present in the products—they are merely reorganized into different arrangements. In a complete chemical equation, the two sides of the equation must be present on the reactant and the product sides of the equation.
    • 3.9: Making Pancakes- Relationships Between Ingredients
    • 3.10: Making Molecules- Mole-to-Mole Conversions
      Previously, you learned to balance chemical equations by comparing the numbers of each type of atom in the reactants and products. The coefficients in front of the chemical formulas represent the numbers of molecules or formula units (depending on the type of substance). In this section, we will extend the meaning of the coefficients in a chemical equation.
    • 3.11: Making Molecules- Mass-to-Mass Conversions
      We have used balanced equations to set up ratios, in terms of moles of materials, that we can use as conversion factors to answer stoichiometric questions—such as how many moles of substance A react with so many moles of reactant B. We can extend this technique even further. Recall that we can relate a molar amount to a mass amount using molar mass. We can use that relation to answer stoichiometry questions in terms of the masses of a particular substance, in addition to moles.
    • 3.12: Stoichiometry
      Chemical equations also provide us with the relative number of particles and moles that react to form products. In this section, you will explore the quantitative relationships that exist between the quantities of reactants and products in a balanced equation. This is known as stoichiometry. Stoichiometry, by definition, is the calculation of the quantities of reactants or products in a chemical reaction using the relationships found in the balanced chemical equation.
    • 3.13: Limiting Reactant and Theoretical Yield
      In all the examples discussed thus far, the reactants were assumed to be present in stoichiometric quantities, with none of the reactants left over at the end of the reaction. Often reactants are present in mole ratios that are not the same as the ratio of the coefficients in the balanced chemical equation. As a result, one or more of them will not be used up completely, but will be left over when the reaction is completed.
    • 3.14: Limiting Reactant, Theoretical Yield, and Percent Yield from Initial Masses of Reactants
      Chemists need a measurement that indicates how successful a reaction has been. This measurement is called the percent yield. The limiting reagent is that reactant that produces the least amount of product. Mass-mass calculations can determine how much product is produced and how much of the other reactants remain.
    • 3.15: Enthalpy Change is a Measure of the Heat Evolved or Absorbed
      A chemical reaction or physical change is endothermic if heat is absorbed by the system from the surroundings. In the course of an endothermic process, the system gains heat from the surroundings and so the temperature of the surroundings decreases. The quantity of heat for a process is represented by the letter q. The sign of q for an endothermic process is positive because the system is gaining heat. A chemical reaction or physical change is exothermic if heat is released by the system.


    3: Module 3 - Stoichiometry is shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

    • Was this article helpful?