The complete burning in oxygen: 4.88 g of carbon produces 12.82 g of carbon diox

Question

The complete burning in oxygen: 4.88 g of carbon produces 12.82 g of carbon dioxide as the only product. (a) How many grams of oxygen gas must have reacted with the carbon?

Explanation / Answer

First, write out the full balance equation. Always start there for any Chemistry question of this type. CH4(g) + 2 O2(g) -------------------------> CO2(g) + 2 H2O(g) That gives you the ratio of the number of molecules of each reactant and product involved. However the "mass" ratio must be worked out by calculating the "formula mass" of each substance. There we need to add up the atomic masses of each component. 1. for methane = 12 + 4 = 16 2. oxygen molecule = 32 3. carbon dioxide = 44 4. water = 18 The quick way is just to say you can't lose any mass in a chemical reaction so it must be 40 - 18 = 22g What I also notice is that the quantities represent HALF of the masses of the effective molar amounts needed by the balanced equation. Eg, one mole of Methane would be 16 grams (but 8 grams burned) two moles of O2 would be 64 grams (but 32 burned) one mole of CO2 would be 44g (so I'd suggest 22g produced) two moles of H2O have mass 36g (but 18 grams produced) So I think 22g CO2

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