Question

Gaseous butane reacts with gaseous oxygen gas to produce gaseous carbon dioxide and gaseous water . If 82.1g of carbon dioxide is produced from the reaction of 49.40g of butane and 107.8g of oxygen gas, calculate the percent yield of carbon dioxide.

Answer 1

To calculate the percent yield of CO2 from the combustion of butane, one must determine the theoretical yield using stoichiometry from the balanced chemical equation and then divide the actual yield by the theoretical yield multiplying by 100%. The percent yield of carbon dioxide in this reaction is approximately 54.87%.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student asked how to calculate the percent yield of carbon dioxide in the reaction of gaseous butane with gaseous oxygen. First, we need to write the balanced chemical equation for the combustion of butane (C₄H₁₀):

2 C4H10(g) + 13 O2(g) → 8 CO2(g) + 10 H2O(g)

To find the theoretical yield, we use stoichiometry based on the balanced equation. From the equation, 2 moles of butane produce 8 moles of carbon dioxide. The molar mass of butane is 58.12 g/mol, so 49.40 g of butane equals 0.85 moles. Using the molar ratio from the balanced equation, 0.85 moles butane should produce 3.4 moles of CO2. One mole of CO2 has a mass of 44.01 g, so the theoretical yield of CO2 is 149.6 grams.

The percent yield is calculated using the actual yield and theoretical yield:

Percent Yield = (Actual Yield / Theoretical Yield) × 100%

Substituting the known values gives us:

Percent Yield = (82.1 g / 149.6 g) × 100% ≈ 54.87%

Therefore, the percent yield of carbon dioxide in this reaction is approximately 54.87%.