Question

During the combustion of 5.000 g of octane, C8H18, 239.5 kcal is released. Write a balanced equation for the combustion reaction. Express your answer as a chemical equation with whole number coefficients. Include phases.

Answer 1

The chemical equation for this combustion reaction is:

C8H18 + O2 --> CO2 + H2O

Balancing by adding whole number coefficients:

2 C8H18 + 25 O2 --> 16 CO2 + 18 H2O

Including the phases:

2 C8H18 (l) + 25 O2 (g) --> 16 CO2 (g) + 18 H2O (l)

where g is gas and l is liquid