Stoichiometry

Some Stoichiometric Musing

    The term stoichiometry actually predates atomic theory. During the latter part of the eighteenth century, the German chemist Jeremias Benjanin Richter introduced the basic concept of the chemical gravimetric ratio based on the factual tabulation of quantitative changes during the chemical reaction process. He named this quantitative study of chemistry stoichiometry from two Greek words meaning to measure the magnitude of something that cannot be divided.

    In modern usage, the term stoichiometry refers to the ratio proportion arithmetic that can be used describe the chemical reaction process. This ratio proportion arithmetic flows naturally from John Dalton's (picture above) atomic theory of chemical action - circa 1803, and after almost two-hundred years, it is still the chemist's first insight into the atomic molecular world of chemical reactions. In chemistry, learning to use stoichiometry is akin to learning to use a microscope that peers into the molecular realm. Not surprisingly, chemical educators are not in complete agreement about the methodology used to teach this important component of basic chemistry, but that's another story! Check out Ernie's Web page for some Web tools related to stoichiometry.