1 of 35

Boardworks Ltd 2009

2 of 35

Boardworks Ltd 2009

Balancing equations
An important principle in chemical reactions is that matter
cannot be created or destroyed. It is important that symbol
equations are balanced.
A balanced equation has the same number of each type of
atom on each side of the equation.
Unbalanced:

Na

Cl2

1 sodium 2 chlorine
Balanced:

2Na

Cl2

2 sodium 2 chlorine

NaCl

1 sodium 1 chlorine

2NaCl

2 sodium 2 chlorine

This shows that two moles of sodium react with one mole
of chlorine to make two moles of sodium chloride.
3 of 35

Boardworks Ltd 2009

Balancing unfamiliar equations

4 of 35

Boardworks Ltd 2009

Balancing ionic equations

Equations containing ions should have the same overall
charge on each side in order to be balanced.
This can be achieved by balancing the equation in the
normal way:
Unbalanced:

Balanced:

Ca2+

Cl-

CaCl2

2 calcium 1 chloride
+1 charge

2 calcium 2 chloride
no charge

Ca2+

2Cl-

2 calcium 2 chloride
no charge
5 of 35

CaCl2

2 calcium 2 chloride
no charge
Boardworks Ltd 2009

Balancing ionic equations problems

6 of 35

Boardworks Ltd 2009

State symbols
State symbols are letters that are added to a formula to
indicate what state each reactant and product is in.
The four state symbols are:
s

solid

liquid

gas

aq

aqueous

These are added after the formula in brackets and subscript.

For example:
2H2(g)
7 of 35

O2(g)

2H2O(g)
Boardworks Ltd 2009

Adding state symbols

8 of 35

Boardworks Ltd 2009

9 of 35

Boardworks Ltd 2009

Reacting masses

10 of 35

Boardworks Ltd 2009

Calculating reacting masses

To calculate the mass of a product given the mass of a
reactant, use the following steps:
1. Calculate no. moles of reactant:
no. moles = mass / Mr
2. Determine mole ratio of reactant to product:
ensure the equation is balanced
3. Calculate no. moles of product:
use the mole ratio
4. Calculate mass of product:
mass = moles Mr
11 of 35

Boardworks Ltd 2009

Reacting masses example

What mass of sodium chloride is produced if 2.30 g of
sodium is burnt in excess chlorine?
1. Calculate
no. moles of Na:

no. moles = mass / Mr

= 2.30 / 23.0
= 0.100
2. Determine mole
2Na + Cl2 2NaCl
ratio of Na to NaCl: ratio = 2:2
= 1:1
3. Calculate
0.100 moles Na = 0.100 moles NaCl
no. moles of NaCl:
4. Calculate
mass = moles Mr
= 0.100 58.5
mass of NaCl:
= 5.85 g
12 of 35

Boardworks Ltd 2009

Reacting masses calculations

13 of 35

Boardworks Ltd 2009

More reacting masses calculations

14 of 35

Boardworks Ltd 2009

15 of 35

Boardworks Ltd 2009

What is concentration?
The concentration of a solution is a measure of how much
solute is dissolved per unit of solvent.
concentration = amount of solute / volume of solvent

amount of solute is measured in moles

volume of solvent is measured in dm3

concentration is measured in mol dm-3.

Volumes are often expressed in cm3, so a more useful

equation includes a conversion from cm3 to dm3.
concentration = (no. moles 1000) / volume
mol dm3
16 of 35

cm3
Boardworks Ltd 2009

Concentration, moles and volume

17 of 35

Boardworks Ltd 2009

Concentration calculations

18 of 35

Boardworks Ltd 2009

Standard solutions
A standard solution is a solution of known concentration.
Standard solutions are made by
dissolving an accurately weighed mass
of solid in a known volume of solvent
using a volumetric flask.
The volumetric flask has a thin neck,
which is marked with a line so it can be
filled accurately to the correct capacity.
The standard solution can then be used to find the
concentration of a second solution with which it reacts.
This is known as volumetric analysis or titration.
19 of 35

Boardworks Ltd 2009

Preparing standard solutions

20 of 35

Boardworks Ltd 2009

What is a titration?
A titration is a procedure used to identify the concentration
of a solution by reacting it with a solution of known
concentration and measuring the volume required for a
complete reaction.
The number of moles in the standard
solution is calculated. Using a
balanced equation for the reaction,
the number of moles in the solution
of unknown concentration can also
be calculated.
Once the number of moles for the
solution is known, the concentration
can be easily calculated.
21 of 35

Boardworks Ltd 2009

Carrying out a titration

22 of 35

Boardworks Ltd 2009

Titration calculations examples

What is the concentration of an NaOH solution if 25.0 cm3
is neutralized by 23.4 cm3 0.998 mol dm-3 HCl solution?
1. Calculate no.
moles HCl:

moles = (conc. volume) / 1000

= (0.998 23.4) / 1000
= 0.0234

2. Determine ratio NaOH + HCl NaCl + H2O

of NaOH to HCl: ratio NaOH:NaCl = 1:1
3. Calculate no.
0.0234 moles HCl = 0.0234 moles NaOH
moles of NaOH:
4. Calculate conc.
of NaOH:

23 of 35

conc. = (moles 1000) /

volume
= (0.0234 1000) / 25.0
= 0.936 mol dm-3
Boardworks Ltd 2009

Titration calculations

24 of 35

Boardworks Ltd 2009

More titration calculations

25 of 35

Boardworks Ltd 2009

26 of 35

Boardworks Ltd 2009

What are the different types of yield?

The percentage yield of a chemical reaction shows
how much product was actually made compared with
the amount of product that was expected.
To calculate the percentage yield, the theoretical yield
and the actual yield must be calculated.
The theoretical yield is the maximum mass of
product expected from the reaction, calculated
using reacting masses.
The actual yield is the mass of product that is
actually obtained from the real chemical reaction.
27 of 35

Boardworks Ltd 2009

Calculating yield
The percentage yield of a reaction can be calculated using
the following equation:
percentage yield = (actual yield 100) / theoretical yield
Example: What is the percentage yield of a reaction
where the theoretical yield was 75 kg but the actual
yield was 68 kg?
percentage yield = (actual yield 100) / theoretical yield
= (68 100) / 75
= 90.7%

28 of 35

Boardworks Ltd 2009

What is atom economy?

Atom economy is another measure of the efficiency of a
chemical reaction. It is the mass of reactants that end up as
the desired product this is calculated as a percentage.
This concept is useful to chemical industry, because it
takes into account the atoms that end up in unwanted
waste products as well as the yield of the reaction.
This means a process that produces several worthless
by-products could have a high yield but a low atom economy.
Reactions with a high atom economy tend to be more
environmentally friendly as they tend to produce less waste,
use fewer raw materials and use less energy.
29 of 35

Boardworks Ltd 2009

Calculating atom economy

mass of desired products 100
atom economy =
total mass of reactants
Example: What is the atom economy of a reaction
where the actual yield was 25 000 tonnes but the mass
of the reactants was 30 000 tonnes?
mass of desired products 100
atom economy =
total mass of reactants
25 000 100
=
30 000
= 83.3%

30 of 35

Boardworks Ltd 2009

Yield and atom economy calculations

31 of 35

Boardworks Ltd 2009

32 of 35

Boardworks Ltd 2009

Glossary

33 of 35

Boardworks Ltd 2009

Whats the keyword?

34 of 35

Boardworks Ltd 2009

Multiple-choice quiz

35 of 35

Boardworks Ltd 2009