Stoichiometry

Stoichiometry is a branch of chemistry that deals with the quantitative relationships that exist among the reactants and products in chemical reactions.

Overview

Stoichiometry is derived from the Greek words stoicheion meaning "element" and metron meaning "measure". It is a calculation used to determine the amount of reactants needed or products formed in a chemical reaction. It is based on the law of conservation of mass and the law of definite proportions.

Principles

Stoichiometry is based on several principles:

• Law of Conservation of Mass: This law states that matter cannot be created or destroyed in a chemical reaction. Therefore, the total mass of the reactants must equal the total mass of the products.

• Law of Definite Proportions: This law states that a chemical compound always contains the same elements in the same proportions by mass.

• Law of Multiple Proportions: This law states that when two elements combine to form more than one compound, the ratios of the masses of the second element that combine with a fixed mass of the first element are small whole numbers.

Applications

Stoichiometry is used in many areas of chemistry and chemical engineering. Some of its applications include:

• Chemical synthesis: Stoichiometry is used to determine the quantities of reactants needed to produce a desired amount of product.

• Chemical analysis: Stoichiometry is used to determine the composition of a sample by analyzing the amounts of its constituent elements.

• Reaction prediction: Stoichiometry is used to predict the amounts of products that will be formed in a chemical reaction.

See also

• Chemical equation
• Mole (unit)
• Chemical formula
• Chemical reaction
• Chemical compound

References

Stoichiometry Resources
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