How can you determine the mass of a product from a reactant's given mass?

You can determine the mass of a product from a reactant's given mass using stoichiometry and the balanced chemical equation.

Stoichiometry is a branch of chemistry that deals with the quantitative relationships that exist among the reactants and products in chemical reactions. To determine the mass of a product from a reactant's given mass, you need to understand the concept of a mole and the balanced chemical equation for the reaction.

Firstly, you need to convert the given mass of the reactant into moles. This is done by dividing the mass by the molar mass of the substance, which can be found on the periodic table. The molar mass is the mass of one mole of a substance, usually expressed in grams per mole (g/mol).

Next, you need to use the balanced chemical equation for the reaction. This equation tells you the ratio of moles of reactants to moles of products. For example, in the reaction 2H2 + O2 → 2H2O, two moles of hydrogen react with one mole of oxygen to produce two moles of water. This means that for every two moles of hydrogen, two moles of water are produced.

Once you have the number of moles of the reactant, you can use the balanced equation to find the number of moles of the product. In the above example, if you had one mole of hydrogen, you would produce one mole of water, because the ratio of hydrogen to water is 2:2, or 1:1.

Finally, you can convert the number of moles of the product back into mass by multiplying by the molar mass of the product. This will give you the mass of the product that is produced from the given mass of the reactant.

Remember, this method assumes that the reaction goes to completion and that there are no side reactions or losses. In reality, reactions often do not go to completion, and there may be side reactions or losses, so the actual mass of product may be less than the theoretical mass calculated using stoichiometry.