Summary of Chemistry Textbook: Section 4.

5 Mass Relationships in Chemical Reactions

A general technique
STEP 1: Write a balanced chemical equation for the reaction under consideration.
STEP 2: List all data given, including relevant units.
STEP 3: Convert the data for the known quantity to moles, using the relevant formula which will be:

STEP 4: Use the chemical equation to determine the mole ratio of the unknown quantity to the
known quantity

STEP 5: Finally, convert this number of mole back into the relevant units of the unknown.
WORKED EXAMPLE:
When calcium carbonate (limestone) is heated strongly, it decomposes to calcium oxide
(quicklime) and carbon dioxide gas. The relevant equation for this reaction is:

() ()

()
Calculate the mass of quicklime formed when 500g of limestone is reduced to quicklime.
Solution:
Step 1:

() ()

()
Step 2: Known (

)
(

Unknown ()
()

Step 3: (

Step 4:

() ()

()
From the equation, ()

)
Step 5: ()

() ( )
The mass of quicklime formed is 280 g
Problems involving limiting or excess reactants
WORKED EXAMPLE:
In an electric furnace, carbon, C, and silicon dioxide, SiO
2
, react together according to the
equation:
()

() ()

()
Solution:
Step 1: ()

() ()

()
Step 2: Known 1 ()
()

Known 2 (

)
(

Unknown ()
()

Step 3:

()

Step 4a: Determine the reactant in excess
The equation for this reaction indicates that two mole of C reacts with one mole of SiO
2
to produce
one mole of SiC.
This can be written as a ratio.
C : SiO
2

2 : 1
If all of the C reacts, then
(

BUT there is only 0.6657 mol of SiO
2
available to react. All of the C cannot react as there is not
enough SiO
2
therefore the C is in excess and n(SiO
2
) is the limiting factor
Step 4b: Use the chemical equation to determine the mole ratio of the unknown quantity to the
known quantity. Note that we must use the limiting reactant (SiO
2
) as the known to calculate the
mass of product formed.
()

() ()

()
From the equation, () (

)
Step 5: ()

()
The mass of silicon carbide produced is 26.69 g
Calculating percentage yield
The amount of product made during an experiment is called the experimental yield and it is often
significantly less than the theoretical yield, the amount you expect to make from your mathematical
calculations. One way in which chemists express how successful their preparation of a product has
been is to calculate the percentage yield.