Question

Q. You become a food chemist in the future, working for the Monsanto group's transgenic wheat division. You are

preparing some tests on your wheat samples when called away suddenly for a meeting. You let the new person, Gary,
continue where you left off. Upon returning, you notice the air seems 'dusty' and assume Gary spilled flour and it is
floating in the air. When you find Gary, he is at the fume hood preparing to combust cellulose from your wheat samples.
You quickly rush over and shut off the gas before Gary lights the Bunsen burner, luckily.

What was the danger in igniting the Biden burner explain the chemical properties and behaviors that support your response?

The basic chemical formula for cellulose is C6H10O5 write a balanced chemical equation that illustrates and supports your answer above

If Gary weighted out 5 grams of cellulose and then sneezed as he carried the cellulose through the lab,how much carbon dioxide is present in the product of the reaction above?

Answer 1

The danger in igniting the Bunsen burner was that cellulose is a highly flammable organic compound, and its combustion reaction would result in a fire or explosion. The chemical properties and behaviors that support this response include cellulose being a complex carbohydrate made up of long chains of glucose units, which are highly reactive and readily burn in the presence of oxygen and heat.

A balanced chemical equation for the combustion of cellulose is:

C6H10O5 + 6O2 -> 6CO2 + 5H2O

If Gary weighed out 5 grams of cellulose and then sneezed as he carried the cellulose through the lab, the amount of carbon dioxide produced from the reaction would be approximately 30 grams (6 moles x 5 grams/mole = 30 grams). This assumes that all of the cellulose was burned completely in a balanced reaction and that the products were able to escape from the reaction vessel.