I am taking an online chemistry class and I do not at all understand how on earth how to do stoichiometry. I just don't get it, its not that I don't know how to do the math, but figuring out how to ger the information. PLEASE HELP!!
When 11.7 grams of iron and 212.7 grams of chlorine gas completely react, iron (III) chloride, FeCl3 is formed.
a. write the balanced equation for the reaction
b. calculate the number of moles of each reactant.
c. how many moles of the product are formed?
Sure, I'd be happy to help you with stoichiometry and how to solve this specific problem!
Stoichiometry is the branch of chemistry that deals with the quantitative relationships between reactants and products in chemical reactions. It allows us to determine the amount of one substance that is needed to react completely with another substance, based on the balanced chemical equation.
Now, let's go through the steps to solve the problem you provided:
a. To write the balanced equation for the reaction, we first need to identify the formulas of the reactants and products involved. In this case, we have iron (Fe) and chlorine gas (Cl2) as reactants, and iron (III) chloride (FeCl3) as the product. The balanced equation will show the relative number of moles of each species involved in the reaction.
The balanced equation for this reaction is:
2 Fe + 3 Cl2 -> 2 FeCl3
Please note that in order to balance the equation, we need to make sure that the number of atoms on both sides of the equation is the same.
b. To calculate the number of moles of each reactant, we need to use their respective molar masses and the given mass of each substance.
The molar mass of iron (Fe) is approximately 55.85 g/mol, and the molar mass of chlorine (Cl2) is approximately 70.90 g/mol.
To calculate the moles of iron, we divide the given mass of iron (11.7 grams) by its molar mass:
11.7 g / 55.85 g/mol = 0.209 moles of Fe
To calculate the moles of chlorine gas, we divide the given mass of chlorine (212.7 grams) by its molar mass (70.90 g/mol):
212.7 g / 70.90 g/mol = 2.999 moles of Cl2 (rounded to three significant figures)
c. To determine the number of moles of the product formed (FeCl3), we need to use the stoichiometric coefficients from the balanced equation. In this case, the coefficient in front of FeCl3 is 2.
From the balanced equation, we can see that 2 moles of FeCl3 are formed for every 2 moles of Fe. Therefore, the number of moles of FeCl3 will be the same as the number of moles of Fe.
So, the number of moles of FeCl3 formed is also 0.209 moles.
I hope this explanation helps you understand how to approach stoichiometry problems and solve this particular example. If you have any further questions, feel free to ask!