Stoichiometry (redirected from Stochiometry)

stoichiometry

Determination of the proportions (by weight or number of molecules) in which elements or compounds react with one another. The rules for determining stoichiometric relationships are based on the laws of conservation (see conservation law) of mass and energy and the law of combining weights (see equivalent weight) or volumes. The tools used are chemical formulas, chemical equations, atomic weights, and molecular weights or formula weights.

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stoichiometry [‚stȯi·kē′äm·ə·trē]

(physical chemistry)

The numerical relationship of elements and compounds as reactants and products in chemical reactions.

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Stoichiometry 

in chemistry, the study of the quantitative relationships between the weights (volumes) of reacting substances. Stoichiometry includes the derivation of chemical formulas and chemical equations, and its principles are used in the calculations of chemical analysis. The term “stoichiometry” was introduced by J. Richter in his book Anfangsgründe der Stöchiometrie (vols. 1–3, 1792–94), in which he synthesized the results of his determinations of the weights of acids and bases during the formation of salts.

The major postulates of stoichiometry are derived from Avo- gadro’s law, Gay-Lussac’s law of combining volumes, the law of multiple proportions, the law of definite proportions, the principle of the conservation of mass, and the law of equivalent proportions. The rules of stoichiometry govern all calculations related to chemical equations. Stoichiometric calculations are widely used in chemical engineering and metallurgy.