For two irreversible reactions, A and B, to be
considered stoichiometrically equivalent, the following must be true:
- The set of reactants for A and B must be
identical.
- The set of products for A and B must be
identical.
- The stoichiometric coefficients of A must be
proportional to the corresponding coefficients in B.
For example, the irreversible reactions
2 H2 + O2 → 2 H2O |
|
and |
|
H2 + ½ O2 → H2O |
are stoichiometrically equivalent. For two reversible
reactions, A and B, to be considered stoichiometrically
equivalent, the following must be true:
- The set of reactants for A must be identical to
either the set of reactants or products for B, and their
stiochiometric coefficients must be proportional.
- The set of products for A must be identical to either
the set of reactants or products for B, and their
stiochiometric coefficients must be proportional.
For example, the reversible reactions
2 NaCl + CaCO3 ↔ Na2CO3
+ CaCl2 |
|
and |
|
½ Na2CO3 + ½ CaCl2
↔ NaCl + ½ CaCO3 |
are stoichiometrically equivalent.
|