Question

enth grade > F.3 Calculate amounts of reactants or products in chemical reactions EF2 Hydrogen chloride is often used to help make a material found in plastic water pipes. It is produced when hydrogen gas and chlorine gas are mixed and heated. Consider the following reaction: 10 molecules of hydrogen (H₂) react amount of hydrogen chloride (HCI). Complete the table below. H CI with Chemical element Number of atoms in the reaction Submit 10 molecules of chlorine (Cl₂) to produce some U During this reaction, how many molecules of hydrogen chloride (HCI) are produced? Count atoms and molecules to chem cat reactions Work it out Not feeling ready yet? This can help:​

Answer 1

According to the balanced chemical equation H₂ + Cl₂ → 2 HCl, when 10 molecules of H₂ and Cl₂ are reacted together, 20 molecules of HCl are expected to be produced. However, the problem states that chlorine is the limiting reactant, which confirms that 20 molecules of HCl will indeed be produced, with hydrogen remaining as the excess reactant.

Step-by-step explanation:

During the reaction of hydrogen gas (H₂) with chlorine gas (Cl₂) to produce hydrogen chloride (HCl), if we start with 10 molecules of H₂ and 10 molecules of Cl₂, we can refer to the balanced chemical equation:

H₂ + Cl₂ → 2 HCl

According to the equation, one molecule of H₂ reacts with one molecule of Cl₂ to produce two molecules of HCl. Thus, starting with 10 molecules of each reactant, we would expect to produce 20 molecules of HCl. However, the given information tells us that chlorine is the limiting reactant and it will be completely consumed once 4 moles (or the molecular equivalent in this case) of HCl have been produced. Therefore, the actual number of HCl molecules produced will be limited by the available Cl₂. Given that we have 10 molecules of Cl₂, and each one can produce two molecules of HCl, we will end up with 20 molecules of HCl.

The presence of an excess reactant is indicated by the remaining H₂ after chlorine is completely consumed, which according to the scenario provided, would result in excess hydrogen molecules. Judging by the stoichiometry of the reaction, the 10 molecules of H₂ would have been enough to produce 20 molecules of HCl. Since only 10 molecules of Cl₂ are available and each Cl₂ generates 2 HCl, only 20 HCl molecules will form and the leftover hydrogen will remain unreacted