Question

When a candle burns, the wick brings melted wax up into the flame of the candle where the wax reacts with the oxygen in the air and produces Carbon Dioxide and Water. Write a balanced equation formula including the state symbols for the combustion of beeswax: C15H31COOC30H61.

a) C15H31COOC30H61 + O2 → CO2 + H2O
b) C15H31COOC30H61 + O2 → CO2 + 15H2O
c) 15C15H31COOC30H61 + O2 → 15CO2 + 31H2O
d) C15H31COOC30H61 + 15O2 → 15CO2 + 15H2O

Answer 1

The balanced chemical equation for the combustion of beeswax, which is a hydrocarbon compound, requires ensuring the number of atoms of each element is equal on both sides. After balancing, the final equation is 2C15H31COOC30H61(l) + 122O2(g) → 90CO2(g) + 62H2O(l).

Step-by-step explanation:

To balance the combustion of the beeswax compound C15H31COOC30H61, we need to follow the steps necessary for balancing chemical equations. The wax behaves as a hydrocarbon during combustion, meaning it reacts with oxygen (O2) to produce carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O). Our goal is to balance the number of atoms of each element on both sides of the reaction.

Let's start by writing the unbalanced equation:

C15H31COOC30H61 + O2 → CO2 + H2O

Now we count the number of each type of atom on each side. We have 45 carbon atoms, 62 hydrogen atoms, and 2 oxygen atoms from the wax. In the products, we represent carbon dioxide as CO2 and water as H2O, where each molecule includes one carbon and two oxygen atoms, and two hydrogen and one oxygen atom, respectively.

To achieve balance, we multiply CO2 by 45 and H2O by 31:

C15H31COOC30H61 + O2 → 45CO2 + 31H2O

Next, we calculate the total number of oxygen atoms needed from O2. The products have 45 × 2 (from CO2) + 31 (from H2O) = 121 oxygen atoms in total. Since each O2 molecule provides two oxygen atoms, we need 60.5 O2 molecules, but because we cannot have half a molecule in the equation, we double all coefficients to maintain whole numbers.

The final balanced equation is:

2C15H31COOC30H61(l) + 122O2(g) → 90CO2(g) + 62H2O(l)