Final answer:
The total number of atoms in the reactants of the corrected chemical equation for cellular respiration is 36, deriving from 6 carbon atoms, 12 hydrogen atoms, and 18 oxygen atoms (6 from glucose and 12 from oxygen molecules).
Step-by-step explanation:
The question asks to calculate the total number of atoms represented in the reactants of the given chemical equation CH2O6 + 6O2. To find the total atoms, we need to count each type of atom in all reactants. In the glucose molecule (CH2O6), there is 1 carbon (C), 2 hydrogens (H), and 6 oxygens (O). In the six oxygen molecules (6O2), there are 12 oxygen atoms. So, the total number of atoms in the reactants is 1 carbon atom + 2 hydrogen atoms + 6 oxygen atoms from glucose + 12 oxygen atoms from the six oxygen molecules, which equals 21 atoms. However, there seems to be a typo in the provided chemical formula for glucose, which should be C6H12O6 instead of CH2O6. If the correct formula for glucose is used, the total number of atoms in the reactants is 6 carbon atoms + 12 hydrogen atoms + 6 oxygen atoms from glucose + 12 oxygen atoms from the six oxygen molecules, which equals 36 atoms. Therefore, none of the options (A, B, C, D) provided match the correct answer with the given or corrected formula.