Answer:
14.39 g of sodium chlorite must be decomposed to produce 6.5 g of oxygen gas
Step-by-step explanation:
We can start by using the balanced chemical equation for the reaction:
2NaClO3(s) -> 2NaCl(s) + 3O2(g)
This equation tells us that for every 2 moles of sodium chlorite that are decomposed, 3 moles of oxygen gas are produced. To find the mass of sodium chlorite that must be decomposed to produce 6.5 g of oxygen, we need to know the molar mass of oxygen, which is 32 g/mol.
Since 6.5 g of oxygen is equal to 6.5 / 32 = 0.203 moles of oxygen, we can use the balanced chemical equation to determine the number of moles of sodium chlorite that must be decomposed:
0.203 moles of oxygen = (0.203 moles of oxygen) / (3 moles of oxygen / 2 moles of sodium chlorite) = 0.203 * (2 moles of sodium chlorite / 3 moles of oxygen) = 0.135 moles of sodium chlorite
Finally, we can use the molar mass of sodium chlorite, which is 106 g/mol, to find the mass of sodium chlorite that must be decomposed:
0.135 moles of sodium chlorite * 106 g/mol = 14.39 g of sodium chlorite