Mass-Mass Stoichiometry

In a mass-mass calculation you are given information in grams and asked for information in grams.  To complete stoichiometry problems you must know the ratio of particles.  The only way to determine this is by writing a balanced reaction.  The coefficients will provide you with the MOLE RATIO.

Remember that a reaction tells you the ratio of particles or moles, NOT MASS!  A gram of one substance will not have the same number of particles as a gram of another substance. That means you will need to convert grams to moles using molar mass.

We approach this type of problem using the same problem solving steps that we've been using all semester.

1. What are we given?
2. What are we looking for?
3. What additional information is needed?

Let's walk through an example problem:

     Example 1:  An excess amount of sodium chloride reacts with 25.0 grams of lead (II) nitrate in water.  How many grams of precipitate will be formed?

1. What are we given?
   excess NaCl, 25.0 g Pb(NO3)2
2. What are we looking for?
   grams of solid (?)
3. What additional information is needed?
   reacts means a reaction, so you need a balanced reaction
   grams means at some point molar mass will be needed
   solid, means you need to know what precipitates, so you need states

Example 2: How many grams of NaCl are actually needed to react all 25.0 g of lead (II) nitrate?