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Chapter 6. CHEMICAL CALCULATIONS

Stoichiometry is the branch of chemistry that deals with the quantitative relationships and
calculations of reactants and products in chemical reactions. It is focused on understanding the
proportions in which substances react and combine to form products, based on the principles of the law of
conservation of mass and the mole concept.

At the end of this chapter, the student will be able to:

1. define the mole concept;

2. balance equations of chemical reactions;
3. determine the percentage composition of elements in a compound;
4. differentiate empirical formula from molecular formula;
5. explain the limiting reactant concept; and
6. calculate theoretical yields of products formed in reactions.

ATOMIC WEIGHTS

The atomic weights on the periodic table are the weighted average of the masses of all isotopes of
an element.

e.g.,

1. Copper has two naturally occurring isotopes, 69.1% of which are 63 65

❑Cu and the rest ❑Cu. The mass
of the more abundant isotope is 62.9 amu while the less abundant is 64.9 amu. Calculate the
atomic weight of copper up to two decimal places.

given: 69.1% 63
❑Cu with a mass of 62.9 amu
30.9% 65
❑Cu, which has a mass of 64.9 amu
required: atomic weight of Cu

Solution:
atomic weight=( 0.691 ) ( 62.9 ) + ( 0.309 ) ( 64.9 )=63.518 atomic weight ≈ 63.52 amu

10 11
2. Boron, that has an atomic weight of 10.881 amu, has two naturally occurring isotopes: 5 B and 5 B,
having atomic masses of 10.013 and 11.009 amu, respectively. Calculate the fraction and
percentage of each isotope.

given: 10.881 amu atomic weight of B

10
5 B with a mass of 10.013 amu
11
5 B with a mass of 11.009 amu
required: fraction & percentage of each isotope
Solution:
10
Let x be the fraction of 5B
11
Let ( 1−x ) be the fraction of 5 B

10.881=( x ) ( 10.013 ) + ( 1−x ) ( 11.009 ) 10.881=10.013 x +11.009−11.009 x

0.996 x 0.128
10.881=11.009−0.996 x0.996 x=11.009−10.881 = x=0.1285∨12.85 %
0.996 0.996

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( 1−x )=1−0.1285( 1−x )=0.8715∨87.15 %

To check, the summation of the mass fractions should be equal to 1 while the summation of
the percent by mass should complete to 100%.

Mass Fraction Percent Mass

10
5 B 0.1285 12.85%
11
5 B 0.8715 87.15%
1.00 100%

THE MOLE CONCEPT

A mole is the quantity of a substance that contains the same number of ultimate particles (atoms,
molecules, ions, etc.) as are contained in accurately 12.00g of the carbon isotope, 12
❑C.

23
1 mole=6.022× 10 objects

The quantity 6.022 ×1023 is called the Avogadro’s Number and is represented by the letter N.

Figure 11. Mole Conversions

Sample Problems

1. Conversion of Mass to Mole

How many moles of Oxygen atoms has a mass of 50g?
sol’n: Molar mass to oxygen = 16 g/mol
1 mol O
50 g O× =3.125 mol O
16 g O

2. Conversion of Number of Particles to Mole

How many moles of Au atoms contains 1.806 ×10 24 atoms?
24 1 mol Au
1.806 ×10 atoms × 23
=2.999 mol Au
6.022× 10 atoms

3. Conversion of Number of Particles to Mass

What is the mass in grams of 4.515 × 1023 Pb atoms?
given: Molar mass of Pb=207.2 g/mol
23
1 mole=6.022× 10 atoms
sol’n:
a. Number of atoms to Mol
23 1 mol
mols Pb=4.515 ×10 atoms × 23
=0.7497509133 mol
6.022 ×10 atoms

b. Mole to Mass
207.2 g
mass Pb=0.7497509133 mol × ≈ 155.35 g Pb
1 mol

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Instead of doing this two-step process, you could simply do a single equation.
23 1 mol 207.2 g
mass Pb=4.515 ×10 atoms × × ≈ 155.35 g Pb
6.022 ×10 atoms 1 mol
23

4. Conversion of Moles to Mass of Compounds

What is the mass in grams of 2.10 moles butane, C 4 H 10, the alkane used as lighter liquid?
given: 2.10 mol C 4 H 10
molar mass of C 4 H 10=4 (12.01 g/mol ) +10 ( 1.01 g /mol )=58.14 g /mol
req’d: mass in grams of butane
58.14 g
sol’n: mass C 4 H 10=2.10 mol × ≈ 122.09 g C 4 H 10
1mol

5. Calculating Mass of an Element from a given mass of a Compound

How many grams of sulfur are there in 26.6 g C S2, carbon disulfide?
given: 26.6 g C S2
molar mass of S=32.07 g /mol
molar mass of C=12.01 g /mol
molar mass of C S2 =1 ( 12.01 ) +2 ( 32.07 ) =76.15 g /mol
req’d: mass in grams of S
1 mol C S2 2 mol S 32.07 g S
sol’n: 26.6 g C S2 × × × ≈ 22.40 g S g C S2
76.15 g C S 2 1 mol C S 2 1 mol S

DERIVING FORMULAS FROM COMPOSITION

I. Empirical Formula
The empirical formula is the smallest whole-number ratio of atoms present in a compound.
However, just because a compound could theoretically have such formula it vde67y does not
necessarily mean that such compound could exist.

e.g., CH 2 is the empirical formula for alkenes (however, no alkene exists that has 1 C and 2 H)

II. Molecular Formula

This formula is the actual formula of a compound, containing the number of atoms per element that
is present in one molecule of a compound.

e.g., C 2 H 2 is the molecular formula for ethene while C 5 H 10 is the molecular formula for pentene

Sample Problems

1. A compound contains 24.74% K, 34.76% Mn, and 40.50% O by mass. What is its empirical formula?
Solution: For easier calculation, assume that 100g of the compound is given so that the percentages
of the given elements are their equivalent masses. From this, the number of moles per element could
be calculated.
1 mol
 mol K :24.74 g K × =0.6327 mol K
39.10 g
1mol
 mol Mn :34.76 g Mn × =0.6327 mol Mn
54.94 g
1 mol
 mol O :40.50 g O × =2.531 mol O
16.00 g

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Now, obtain the smallest whole number ratio by dividing the calculated number of moles for each
element with the smallest quantity obtained.

0.6327 mol
 for K: =1
0.6327 mol
0.6327 mol
 for Mn: =1
0.6327 mol
2.531 mol
 for O: ≈ 4.0003 ≈ 4
0.6327 mol

Finally, write the number of atoms per element as subscripts in the compound: KMn O 4 .

2. A sample of a compound contains 6.541g of Co & 2.368g of O. What is the formula of this compound?
Solution:

First, calculate for the number of moles for each element.

1 mol
 mol Co: 6.541 g× =0.1110 mol Co
58.93 g
1 mol
 mol O: 2.368 g Mn × =0.1480 mol Mn
16.00 g

Now, obtain the smallest whole number ratio.

0.1110 mol
 for Co: =1
0.1110 mol
0.1480 mol 4
 for Mn: =
0.1110 mol 3

Take note, unlike the first example, one of the quotients is still not a whole number so multiply both
sides by 3:

 for Co: 3 ( 1 )=3

 for Mn: 3 ( 34 )=4

Write the subscripts of each element in the compound: Co3 O4.

3. Vitamin C ( MM=176.12 g/mol ) is a compound comprised of C, H and O. When a 1.000 g sample of

this compound is placed in a combustion chamber and burned, 1.500 g of CO 2 and 0.4100 g of H 2 O
were produced. What is the molecular formula of vitamin C?
Solution:

Write the general equation for the combustion of organic compounds: C x H y O z +O 2 → CO 2+ H 2 O

From the equation, we can see that all hydrogen molecules from the organic compound will be used in
the formation of water vapor. Hence, we can back-solve from the given mass of water produced the
amount of hydrogen from Vitamin C.

1 mol H 2 0 2mol H
 0.410 g H 2 0 × × ≈ 0.0455 mol H
18 g 1 mol H 2 0

Converting it to mass,

1g H
 0.0455 mol H × =0.0455 g H
1 mol H

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Just as the hydrogen molecule, we can obtain the amount of carbon present in vitamin C by obtaining
the mass of carbon found in the product carbon dioxide.

1mol CO 2 1 mol C
 1.500 g CO2 × × ≈ 0.0341 mol C
44.01 g 1 mol CO 2

12.01 g C
Converting it to mass, 0.0341 mol C × ≈ 0.4093 g C
1 mol C

In the case of oxygen, since both products contains the said atom, we cannot back-solve from the
products. Instead, we subtract the computed mass of hydrogen and carbon from the 1.000 g sample to
determine the mass of oxygen in the hydrocarbon.

 mass of Oxygen=( 1.000−0.4093−0.0455 ) g ≈ 0.5452 g

1 mol
Converting it to moles: 0.5452 g × ≈ 0.0341 mol O
16.00 g
To calculate the empirical formula the smallest whole number ratio must be obtained.

0.1110 mol
 for C: =1
0.1110 mol
0.1480 mol 4
 for H: =
0.1110 mol 3
0.1480 mol 4
 for O: =
0.1110 mol 3

One of the quotients is still not a whole number so multiply everything by 3:

 for C: 3 ( 3 )=3

 for H: 3 ( 34 )=4
 for O: 3 ( 1 )=4

The Empirical Formula becomes: C 3 H 4 O3.

To get the Molecular formula from the Empirical Formula, we use the equation below:

MM Molecular Mass
 n= =
EFM Empirical Formula Mass

176.12 g /mol 176.12

n= = =2
[ 3 ( 12.01 ) + 4 ( 1 ) +3(16.00)] g /mol 88.03
Multiply the quotient with the subscripts of the Empirical Formula: 2 ( C3 H 4 O 3 )=C6 H 8 O 6

CHEMICAL EQUATIONS AND CHEMICAL CALCULATIONS: STOICHIOMETRY

Stoichiometry expresses the quantitative relationship between reactants and products in a

chemical equation. Stoichiometric coefficients in a balanced equation indicate molar ratios in that reaction.
in Greek, stoikhein means element and metron means measure, so stoichiometry literally translated
means the “measure of elements”. It is governed by Lavoisier's principle on the conservation of mass and
elements in a chemical reaction and has a counting unit of mole.

STOICHIOMETRIC COEFFICIENTS

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In an ordinary chemical reaction, the Law of Conservation of Mass states there should be no
detectable change in the quantity of matter involved; the reactant and product side must contain the exact
number of each kind of atom involved.

The stoichiometric coefficient is the number written in front of atoms, ions, and molecules in a
chemical reaction to balance the number of each element on both the reactant and product sides of the
equation. Though the stoichiometric coefficients can be fractions, they are usually converted to whole
numbers.

From the equation above we can determine that 1 mole of methane will react with 2 mole oxygen to form 2
moles of water and 1 mole of carbon dioxide. We assume that the moles of reactants are directly
proportional to the moles of products and any change (increase or decrease of moles) in the reactant is
equally the same with the products.

BALANCING CHEMICAL EQUATIONS

1. Transform the given worded problem into an equation.

2. Check the equation is already balanced.
3. If not, adjust the coefficient/s as required.
4. For every adjustment, check if the equation is already balanced.
5. If a balanced equation is already achieved, specify the states of matter of each compound in
the reaction.

Sample Problem:

1. Solid sodium and Chlorine gas are combined to form table salt (sodium chloride). Write the
balanced equation for this reaction.
Solution:
a. Transform the given worded problem into an equation: Na+Cl2 → NaCl

Notice that chlorine has a subscript of 2. Some elements are diatomic in nature, usually
existing into pairs. The most common of them are: H 2 , N 2 , F2 , O2 , I 2 , Cl 2 ,∧B 2.

b. Check the equation is already balanced: Na+Cl2 → NaCl

ATOM REACTANT PRODUCT
Na 1 1
Cl 2 1

c. Obviously, adjustments are required: 2 Na+Cl 2 → 2 NaCl

ATOM REACTANT PRODUCT
Na 2 ( 1 )=2 2 ( 1 )=2
Cl 2 2 ( 1 )=2

d. Check if the equation is balanced. Both the reactant side and the product side contain the
same amount of atom of each kind so the adjustment is enough.

e. Specify the states of matter: 2 Na(s )+Cl 2 ( g) →2 NaCl ( s )

The states of matter are indicated as subscripts of enclosed in parenthesis:
( s ) – solid ( g ) – gas
( l ) – liquid ( aq ) – aqueous solution

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2. Within the cylinders of a car’s engine, the hydrocarbon octane (C 8 H 18 ), one of many components
of gasoline, mixes with oxygen from the air and burns to form carbon dioxide and water vapor.
Write a balanced equation for this reaction.
a. Transform the given worded problem into an equation: C 8 H 18 +O 2 → CO 2+ H 2 O
b. Check the equation is already balanced: C 8 H 18 +O 2 → CO 2+ H 2 O
ATOM REACTANT PRODUCT
C 8 1
H 18 2
O 2 3

c. -d. Adjust the coefficient and check if the equation is already balanced in every adjustment.
i. C 8 H 18 +O 2 → 8 CO 2+ H 2 O
ATOM REACTANT PRODUCT
C 8 8 ( 1 )=8
H 18 2
O 2 8 ( 2 ) +1=17

ii. C 8 H 18 +O 2 → 8 CO 2+ 9 H 2 O
ATO
REACTANT PRODUCT
M
C 8 8 ( 1 )=8
H 18 2
O 2 8 ( 2 ) +9 ( 1 )=25

25
iii. C 8 H 18 + O →8 CO 2+ 9 H 2 O
2 2
ATO
REACTANT PRODUCT
M
C 8 8 ( 1 )=8
H 18 2
25 8 ( 2 ) +9 ( 1 )=25
O ( 2 )=25
2

Although already balanced, it is proper that there are no half-molecules so multiply the
coefficients of each compound on both sides of the equation by 2 to cancel out the fraction.

(
2 C 8 H 18+
25
)
O → 8CO 2 +9 H 2 O The equation then becomes
2 2
2 C8 H 18 +25 O2 → 16 CO2 +18 H 2 O

e. Specify the states of matter.

2 C8 H 18(g )+ 25 O2(g) → 16CO 2 (g) +18 H 2 O(g)

THE LIMITING REACTANTS CONCEPT

The Limiting Reactant is the reactant that determines the extent of a reaction as it is the first to be
consumed. The reactant that is not fully consumed during a reaction is called the excess reactant.

To illustrate, take an egg-sandwich. Define the preparation of a foot-long as follows:

2 slices bread+ 1 sunnyside−up egg ↔1 foot−long 2 B+ 1 E ↔ B 2 E

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If there are 7 pieces of fried eggs and 10 pieces of bread, how many egg-sandwiches could be prepared?

Given: 7 pieces of egg, 10 pieces of bread

Required: number of foot-long

Solution:
1 B2 E
 Using the slices of bread: Sandwiches=10 B ×
2B
Sandwiches=5 B 2 E

1 B2 E
 Using all the fried eggs: Sandwiches=7 E ×
1H
Sandwiches=7 B 2 E

Since you can only create 5 sandwiches from the bread, the Limiting Reactant is BREAD.

Problem 2: There are 2.0 mol of Na(s ) that are combined with 2.0 mol Cl 2(g) to form table salt (NaCl).
Identify the limiting reactant.

Given: 2.0 mol Na(s ) and 2.0 mol Cl 2(g)

Required: limiting reactant

Solution:

Before a limiting reagent is identified, the reaction must be balanced.

2 Na(s )+Cl 2 ( g) →2 NaCl (s)

Calculate the number of moles each component must react to form NaCl.

1mol Cl 2
 2.0 mol Na × =1 mol Cl2
2 mol Na
2mol Na
 2.0 mol Cl 2 × =4 mol Na
1 mol Cl 2

Since 2.0 mol Na only requires 1 mol of Cl 2 while 2.0 mol Cl 2requires 4.0 mol Na, the Limiting Reactant
is the 𝟐.𝟎 𝒎𝒐𝒍 𝑵𝒂.

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Name: ___________________________________
Course & Section: ________________________
Date: ___________________________________
Chapter 6. CHEMICAL CALCULATIONS

I. Dimensional Analysis.
1. Calculate number of moles of chlorine (Cl2) in 50.0g of Cl2.
2. Determine the mass of one molecule of hydrogen sulfide gas.
3. How many molecules are there in 60.0 g of N2O?
4. A salt shaker is filled with 20.0g sodium chloride. How many moles(s) of NaCl does it contain?
5. How many molecules are there in 80.0g of Mg (OH)2?
6. Determine the molecular formula of a compound with an empirical formula of NH2 and a formula
mass of 32.06 g/mol.
7. 10 gram of an organic molecule burns completely in the presence of excess oxygen. It yields
0.0333 mol of CO2 and 0.599 g of H2O. What is the empirical formula of the organic molecule?

II. Stoichiometric Calculation.

1. Why are the following equations not considered balanced?
a. H 2 O(l) → H 2( g )+ ( O2) g + H 2 O (l) → H 2( g )+ ( O 2) g
3. Hydrochloric acid reacts with a solid chunk of aluminum to produce hydrogen gas and aluminum
ions. Write the balanced chemical equation for this reaction.
4. If 0.502g of methane gas react with 0.27g of oxygen to produce carbon dioxide and water, what is
the limiting reagent and how many moles of water are produced? The unbalanced equation is
provided below.

C H 4 +O2 → C O2 + H 2 O+C H 4 +O2 → C O2 + H 2 O

5. A 0.777g sample of an organic compound is burned completely. It produces 1.42g CO2 and 0.388g
H2O. Knowing that all the carbon and hydrogen atoms in CO2 and H2O came from the 0.777g
sample, what is the empirical formula of the organic compound?
6. What is the limiting reagent if 76.4 grams of C2H3Br3 were reacted with 49.1 grams of O2? The
reaction is given as follows:
4 C2 H 3 Br 3 +11O2 → 8 C O2 +6 H 2 O+6 Br 2

III. Compare and Contrast. Describe the preparation of Sodium Chloride from experimental
procedure employed through combination of Sodium metal and chlorine gas and through
evaporation of sea water. What reaction is more efficient? Why?

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