kg of ammonia consists of 14.01 kg of nitrogen and 3 × 1.01 kg of hydrogen, because natural nitrogen includes a small amount of nitrogen-15, and natural hydrogen includes hydrogen-2 (deuterium). A stoichiometric reactant is a reactant that is consumed in a reaction, as opposed to a catalytic reactant, which is not consumed in the overall reaction because it reacts in one step and is regenerated in another step. Converting grams to moles Stoichiometry is not only used to balance chemical equations but also used in conversions, i.e., converting from grams to moles using molar mass as the conversion factor, or from grams to milliliters using density. For example, to find the amount of NaCl (sodium chloride) in 2.00 g, one would do the following: In the above example, when written out in fraction form, the units of grams form a multiplicative identity, which is equivalent to one (g/g = 1), with the resulting amount in moles (the unit that was needed), as shown in the following equation, Molar proportion Stoichiometry is often used to balance chemical equations (reaction stoichiometry). For example, the two diatomic gases, hydrogen and oxygen, can combine to form a liquid, water, in an exothermic reaction, as described by the following equation: Reaction stoichiometry describes the 2:1:2 ratio of hydrogen, oxygen, and water molecules in the above equation. The molar ratio allows for conversion between moles of one substance and moles of another. For example, in the reaction the amount of water that will be produced by the combustion of 0.27 moles of is obtained using the molar ratio between and of 2 to 4. The term stoichiometry is also often used for the molar proportions of elements in stoichiometric compounds (composition stoichiometry). For example, the stoichiometry of hydrogen and oxygen in H2O is 2:1. In stoichiometric compounds, the molar proportions are whole numbers. Determining amount of product Stoichiometry can also be used to find the quantity of a product yielded by a reaction. If a piece of solid copper (Cu) were added to an aqueous solution of silver nitrate (), the silver (Ag) would be replaced in a single displacement reaction forming aqueous copper(II) nitrate () and solid silver. How much silver is produced if 16.00 grams of Cu is added to the solution of excess silver nitrate? The following steps would be used: Write and balance the equation Mass to moles: Convert grams of