atom economy
What atom economy means in Chemistry A-Level, as defined for AQA, OCR.
Definitions of atom economy
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Reference: AQA
The relative formula mass of the desired product divided by the total relative formula mass of all the reactants, multiplied by one hundred.
Compares the mass of atoms in the desired product with the total mass of atoms in all products, expressed as a percentage.
A measure of how much of the total mass of reactants ends up in the desired product, expressed as a percentage.
The anhydride has the poorer atom economy of the two, because its larger by-product makes it worse.
Topics that use atom economy
- Acylation (A-level only) (AQA A-Level)
- Organic synthesis (A-level only) (AQA A-Level)
- Amount of substance (OCR A-Level)
Related terms
- acid anhydride
- addition-elimination
- amide
- ammonium salt formation
- amount of substance
- Atom economy and by-products
- by-product handling
- Concentration in mol dm⁻³
Using atom economy in the exam
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