Question

What does it mean to say that the balanced chemical equation for a reaction describes the stoichiometry of the reaction?

Short answer

A balanced chemical equation describes the stoichiometry of a reaction by providing quantitative relationships between reactants and products. It ensures that the number of atoms of each element on the reactant side is equal to the number on the product side, maintaining the law of conservation of mass. The coefficients in the balanced equation represent the molar ratios of reactants and products, allowing us to determine how much of each substance reacts and how much of each substance is produced during the reaction.

Step-by-step solution

Understanding stoichiometry

Stoichiometry refers to the quantitative relationship between reactants and products in a balanced chemical equation. It encompasses the study of how much of each reactant is consumed and how much of each product is formed during a chemical reaction.

Balanced chemical equation

A chemical equation is a representation of a chemical reaction, where reactants are written on the left side and products on the right side. The equation also provides information about the elemental composition and their relative quantities in a reaction. A balanced chemical equation ensures that the number of atoms of each element on the reactant side is equal to the number of atoms of that element on the product side, maintaining the law of conservation of mass.

Connecting stoichiometry and balanced chemical equation

A balanced chemical equation gives us the stoichiometry of a reaction. The coefficients in the balanced equation represent the molar ratios of the reactants and products, which help to determine how much of each substance reacts and how much of each substance is produced during the reaction. For instance, consider the balanced chemical equation for the reaction between hydrogen and oxygen to produce water: \[2H_2 + O_2 \rightarrow 2H_2O\] In this equation, the numbers in front of each molecule (called coefficients) represent the stoichiometric coefficients. According to the coefficients, two moles of hydrogen gas react with one mole of oxygen gas to produce two moles of water. So, when we say that the balanced chemical equation describes the stoichiometry of a reaction, it means that the equation provides us with the quantitative relationships between the reactants and products in a chemical reaction, allowing us to calculate how much of each substance is needed or produced.