Atom Economy Flashcards

1️⃣ Familiarise yourself with the flashcards:

Look through all the flashcards to see what's on both sides.
Make sure you understand the information on each card. If something's unclear, click the link to the revision notes at the bottom of the page for more details.

2️⃣ Test yourself:

Look at the question or prompt on each card and try to remember the answer before flipping it over.
Check the answer and make a note of any cards you find challenging and need to go over more.

3️⃣ Consistently Review and Practice:

Use spaced repetition: spend more time on the cards you struggle with and go over them more often.
Regularly review all the flashcards to help you better understand and retain the information over time.

Note: We may include questions that have multiple correct answers. It's useful to remember specific examples to understand these concepts better.

PERSONALISED 1-TO-1 TUTORING

Get support with clear explanations, practice and feedback (Ages 5 to 16).

Want an ad-free experience? Subscribe to remove ads

What is meant by the atom economy of a reaction?

It is the percentage of the atoms in the reactants that end up in the desired product.

Atom economy = (relative formula mass of desired product ÷ total relative formula mass of all products) × 100.

It is the main product that you want to make from the reaction.

High atom economy means little waste, so the reaction is cheaper and better for the environment.

It has an atom economy of 100%.

A balanced equation shows the correct number of each atom, so you can add up the relative formula masses correctly.

It means 80% of the atoms in the reactants go into the desired product and 20% go into other products.

Atom economy compares useful atoms to all product atoms, while percentage yield compares the amount made to the amount you could have made.

It makes lots of waste products, which may be hard to dispose of and can cause pollution.

They can find useful uses for by-products, such as selling them as other useful chemicals.