6: Quantities in Chemical Reactions
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So far, we have talked about chemical reactions in terms of individual atoms and molecules. Although this works, most of the reactions occurring around us involve much larger amounts of chemicals. Even a tiny sample of a substance will contain millions, billions, or a hundred billion billions of atoms and molecules. How do we compare amounts of substances to each other in chemical terms when it is so difficult to count to a hundred billion billion? Actually, there are ways to do this, which we will explore in this chapter. In doing so, we will increase our understanding of stoichiometry, which is the study of the numerical relationships between the reactants and the products in a balanced chemical reaction.
- 6.0: Prelude to Quantities in Chemical Reactions
- Amounts do matter and in a variety of circumstances. The chapter-opening essay in Chapter 1 tells the story of a nurse who mistakenly read “2–3 mg” as “23 mg” and administered the higher and potentially fatal dose of morphine to a child. Food scientists who work in test kitchens must keep track of specific amounts of ingredients as they develop new products for us to eat. Quality control technicians measure amounts of substances in manufactured products to ensure that the products meet company o
- 6.1: The Mole and Avogadro’s Number
- A mole is 6.022×1023 things.
- 6.2: Gram-Mole Conversions
- It is possible to convert between moles of material and mass of material.
- 6.3: Mole Relationships in Chemical Reactions
- The balanced chemical reaction can be used to determine molar relationships between substances.
- 6.4: Mass Relationships and Chemical Equations
- The balanced chemical reaction can be used to determine molar relationships between substances.
- 6.5: Limiting Reagent and Percent Yield
- When there is not enough of one reactant in a chemical reaction, the reaction stops abruptly. To figure out the amount of product produced, it must be determined reactant will limit the chemical reaction (the limiting reagent) and which reactant is in excess (the excess reagent). One way of finding the limiting reagent is by calculating the amount of product that can be formed by each reactant; the one that produces less product is the limiting reagent.
- 6.E: Quantities in Chemical Reactions (Exercise)
- Select problems and solution.
- 6.S: Quantities in Chemical Reactions (Summary)
- To ensure that you understand the material in this chapter, you should review the meanings of the following bold terms in the following summary and ask yourself how they relate to the topics in the chapter.