Stoichiometry

Stoichiometry is the relationships between the masses of <a href="/facts/Reactant/c3GLInCu">reactants</a> and <a href="/facts/Product_(chemistry)/8uCoDUdv">products</a> before, during, and following <a href="/facts/Chemical_reaction/GpqWlKrz">chemical reactions</a>.
Stoichiometry is based on the <a href="/facts/Law_of_conservation_of_mass/fRu05SS1">law of conservation of mass</a>; the total mass of reactants must equal the total mass of products, so the relationship between reactants and products must form a ratio of positive integers. This means that if the amounts of the separate reactants are known, then the amount of the product can be calculated. Conversely, if one reactant has a known quantity and the quantity of the products can be empirically determined, then the amount of the other reactants can also be calculated.
This is illustrated in the image here, where the unbalanced equation is:

CH4 (g) + O2 (g) → CO2 (g) + H2O (l)
However, the current equation is imbalanced. The reactants have 4 hydrogen and 2 oxygen atoms, while the product has 2 hydrogen and 3 oxygen. To balance the hydrogen, a coefficient of 2 is added to the product H2O, and to fix the imbalance of oxygen, it is also added to O2. Thus, we get:
CH4 (g) + 2 O2 (g) → CO2 (g) + 2 H2O (l)
Here, one <a href="/facts/Molecule/N9ljSfFq">molecule</a> of <a href="/facts/Methane/kBHneYnh">methane</a> reacts with two molecules of <a href="/facts/Oxygen/acyn6o8r">oxygen</a> gas to yield one molecule of <a href="/facts/Carbon_dioxide/xGzpppEp">carbon dioxide</a> and two molecules of liquid <a href="/facts/Properties_of_water/FFsl65l1">water</a>. This particular chemical equation is an example of <a href="/facts/Combustion/ohQoWj8z">complete combustion</a>. The numbers in front of each quantity are a set of stoichiometric coefficients which directly reflect the <a href="/facts/Mole_(unit)/kCMFwCc0">molar ratios</a> between the products and reactants. Stoichiometry measures these quantitative relationships, and is used to determine the amount of products and reactants that are produced or needed in a given reaction. Describing the quantitative relationships among substances as they participate in chemical reactions is known as reaction stoichiometry. In the example above, reaction stoichiometry measures the relationship between the quantities of methane and oxygen that react to form carbon dioxide and water: for every mole of methane combusted, two moles of oxygen are consumed, one mole of carbon dioxide is produced, and two moles of water are produced. 
Because of the well known relationship of moles to <a href="/facts/Relative_atomic_mass/A3vbuz2n">atomic weights</a>, the ratios that are arrived at by stoichiometry can be used to determine quantities by weight in a reaction described by a balanced equation. This is called composition stoichiometry.
Gas stoichiometry deals with reactions solely involving gases, where the gases are at a known temperature, pressure, and volume and can be assumed to be <a href="/facts/Ideal_gas/80EfYGFj">ideal gases</a>. For gases, the volume ratio is ideally the same by the <a href="/facts/Ideal_gas_law/Pphokwhf">ideal gas law</a>, but the mass ratio of a single reaction has to be calculated from the <a href="/facts/Molecular_mass/FWueGMed">molecular masses</a> of the reactants and products. In practice, because of the existence of <a href="/facts/Isotope/KD9B1y6o">isotopes</a>, <a href="/facts/Molar_mass/m2laJErl">molar masses</a> are used instead in calculating the mass ratio.

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Stoichiometry