How do you derive stoichiometric relationships from experimental data?

Stoichiometric relationships are derived from experimental data by analysing the quantities of reactants and products in a chemical reaction.

In more detail, stoichiometry is the study of the quantitative relationships or ratios between two or more substances undergoing a physical change or chemical reaction. These relationships are often referred to as stoichiometric ratios, and they are derived from the balanced chemical equation for the reaction.

To derive stoichiometric relationships from experimental data, you first need to gather data on the quantities of reactants used and products formed in a chemical reaction. This could be in the form of mass, volume (in the case of gases), or concentration (in the case of solutions).

Once you have this data, you can then convert these quantities into moles using the molar mass (for mass), the molar volume (for gases), or the molar concentration (for solutions). This is because stoichiometry deals with the ratios of moles of substances, not their absolute quantities.

After converting to moles, you can then compare the mole ratios of the reactants used and products formed to the stoichiometric ratios in the balanced chemical equation. If the experimental mole ratios match the stoichiometric ratios, then the reaction is following the stoichiometry predicted by the balanced equation. If not, it could indicate that the reaction is not going to completion, or that there are side reactions occurring.

In addition, you can also use stoichiometric relationships to predict the quantities of products that should be formed from a given quantity of reactants, or the quantities of reactants needed to produce a given quantity of product. This is done by setting up a proportion between the stoichiometric ratio and the experimental mole ratio, and solving for the unknown quantity.

In conclusion, deriving stoichiometric relationships from experimental data involves gathering data on the quantities of reactants and products, converting these quantities to moles, and comparing the experimental mole ratios to the stoichiometric ratios in the balanced chemical equation.