Stoichiometry
Introduction
Stoichiometry is the study of the quantitative relationships in chemical reactions. By studying stoichiometry, you can calculate the quantity of reactants that will be consumed in a chemical reaction, and the amount of product produced. Consider the reaction of vinegar with baking soda. As you may know, this reaction produces carbon dioxide gas which bubbles out of the vinegar. But if you want to know how much gas would be produced from combining a teaspoon of baking soda with a cup of vinegar, you would need to consider the stoichiometry of the reaction. Stoichiometry answers questions about chemical reactions dealing with “how much” and “how many.”
In the first part of this experiment you will investigate the reaction of copper metal with oxygen in the air.
Using stoichiometry, you can predict the amount of copper oxide (CuO) that could be produced if all the copper would react. However, when you perform the reaction yourself, you will discover that only some of the copper reacts to form black copper oxide. A stoichiometric calculation will allow you to determine the amount of copper oxide produced and the amount of unreacted copper remaining.
In the second part of the experiment, you will use the techniques learned in the first part to investigate the chemical composition of an unknown compound. The solid compound will contain a certain quantity of water trapped inside it, and your task will be to calculate the amount of water it contains. Based on the amount of water released, you should be able to identify your unknown compound as one of the three possible compounds described in the experiment. You will need to make stoichiometric calculations in order to find out how much water should be released by each of the three unknown compounds, and compare that result with the amount of water actually released by your compound.
Discussion
Investigation of a Copper Reaction
When heated in the presence of