Question

Balance the combustion reaction between octane and oxygen. 2C8H18 + O2 → CO2 + H2O

Answer 1

The answer is 2C8H18 + 25O2 ⇒ 16CO2 + 18H2O

Answer 2

Step-by-step explanation:

A balanced reaction is a reaction where there are equal number of atoms on both reactant and product side.

For example,
`2C_(8)H_(18) + O_(2) \rightarrow CO_(2) + H_(2)O`

Number of atoms on reactant side are as follows.

• C = 16

• H = 36

• O = 2

Number of atoms on product side are as follows.

• C = 1

• H = 2

• O = 3

Therefore, in order to balance the equation we multiply
`O_(2)` by 25 on reactant side and multiply
`CO_(2)` by 16 and
`H_(2)O` by 18.

Thus, the balanced chemical equation will be as follows.

`2C_(8)H_(18) + 25O_(2) \rightarrow 16CO_(2) + 18H_(2)O`