Chemistry 10050 - Chemical Reactions

Definitions

Reactant:
A starting material for a chemical reaction. Consumed during course of reaction.
Product:
A substance formed by a chemical reaction.
Avogadro's Number:
≈6.02 x 1023.
Mole:
The amount of a substance that contains Avogadro's number of "units".
Molecular Weight:
The sum of atomic weights in a molecule.
Formula Weight:
The sum of atomic weights in a formula unit. (For ionic compounds).
Percent Yield:
Measure of amount of compound obtained in lab. (Given as a percentage)

Chemical Reaction Example

Reactants Reaction Products
2 CH3CO2H(l) + Na2CO3(s) CO2(g) + H2O(l) + 2 NaCH3CO2(aq)

Coefficients - indicate the number of each type of molecule/ion required for complete reaction.
In this example, two molecules of CH3CO2H react with one 'molecule' of Na2CO3.

Showing Physical States
(s) (l) (g) (aq)
solid liquid gas aqueous solution

Balancing Chemical Reactions

  1. Write unbalanced equation, including all compounds with correct formulas. The chemical formulas cannot be changed to balance the equation.
  2. Select "easiest" element, and balance the number of this atom in reactants with the number of this atom in products by changing the coefficients.
  3. Repeat step (2) for each of the remaining elements. Verify that the simplest whole number ratio found.
  4. Check results.

Mole Relationships

A mole is a number, not a weight. Just as a ream of paper comes in different weights, a mole of hydrogen does not weigh the same as a mole of oxygen. Chemical reactions are best thought of as the interactions of single molecules. To convert to a scale that is reasonable for actually performing the experiment, we typically use moles of each compound, which have the same relationships to chemical equations as the numbers of compounds used in the balanced chemical equation.

To convert between moles of a compound and weight in grams, use the molecular weight (in grams/mole). To convert between moles of one substance and moles of another, use the coefficients of the balanced equation.

a A + b B + ... c C + d D + ...
mass (g) mass (g)
(from molecular weight in g/mole) ¯ ­ (from molecular weight in g/mole)
moles moles
(from coefficients of balanced equation)

Example: How many grams of H2O can be produced from 3.75 g of O2?

M.W. 32.0 g/mol 2.02 g/mole 18.0 g/mol
O2 + 2 H2 2 H2O
3.75 g 4.22 g
3.75 g x (1 mole O2)/(32.0 g) 0.234 moles H2O x (18.0 g H2O)/(1 mole H2O)
0.117 moles O2 0.234 moles H2O
0.117 mole O2 x (2 mole H2O)/(1 mole O2)

Classification of Chemical Reactions:

Precipitation: reaction of two ionic compounds to produce an insoluble ionic salt.
Solubility Rules:
NH4+, Li+, K+, Na+, NO3- salts always soluble.
Cl-, Br-, I- salts soluble (except with Ag+, Hg22+, and Pb2+)
SO42- salts soluble (except with Ag+, Hg22+, and Pb2+)
CO32-, PO43-, S2- salts are always insoluble (unless one of above rules applies)
OH- salts are always insoluble (unless with Ba2+ or one of above rules applies)
Acid-Base: reaction of an acid with a base to yield a salt plus water.
Acids: HCl, HBr, HI, HNO3, and H2SO4
Bases: Any cation combined with OH- (example: NaOH, CaOH, Ba(OH)2, etc.)
Oxidation-Reduction: reaction in which electrons are transfered between molecules.
Oxidation: Loss of one or more electrons.
Reduction: Gain of one or more electrons.
Oxidizing Agent: Causes something else to be/b> Causes something else to be oxidized (it gets reduced).
Reducing Agent: Causes something else to be reduced (it gets oxidized).
Oxidation Number: Formal system for assigning location of electrons.

Ionic Equations:

Molecular Equation: All compounds (including ionic salts) written as molecules.
Ionic Equation: All salts written with ions separated (as actually found in solution).
Net Ionic Equation: Ionic equation with ions that do not undergo any reaction removed.
Example: (Same reaction, with molecular, ionic, and net ionic equations given)

Pb(NO3)2(aq) + 2 NaCl(aq) → PbCl2(s) + 2 NaNO3(aq)
Pb+2(aq) + 2 NO3-(aq) + 2 Na+(aq) + 2 Cl-(aq) → PbCl2(s) + 2 Na+(aq) + 2 NO3-(aq)
Pb+2(aq) + 2 Cl-(aq) → PbCl2(s)

Rules for Assigning Oxidation States:

Examples:
Na: Na = Na0
SO3: S = S+6, O = O-2.
Cu(NO3)2 = (Cu+2)(NO3-)2: Cu = Cu+2, N = N+5, O = O-2.