Chapter 9, Problem 3QAP

Interpretation Introduction

Interpretation:

To specify why the masses of the reactants or products involved in a chemical reaction do not give a correct insight about the stoichiometric coefficients of them in a balanced chemical reaction.

Concept Introduction:

A chemical reaction represents the breaking of bonds and forming of new chemical bonds between the atomic species involved. According to Dalton’s atomic theory, atoms are not changed or destroyed in a chemical reaction. Therefore, in order to be consistent with this premise one must make sure that a chemical reaction is balanced before performing any quantitative evaluations about the chemical reaction. In other words, one must choose the coefficients that give the same number of each type of atoms on both sides using the smallest possible integers.

Mass is a variable that is used to quantify the amount of matter. One could use it with a reliable accuracy if one uses correctly calibrated instruments to measure mass.