Final answer:
To balance the chemical equation 1 C4H10O + ___ O2 → 4 CO2 + 5 H2O, we balance the oxygen atoms by adding a coefficient of 7 in front of O2, resulting in the balanced equation 1 C4H10O + 7 O2 → 4 CO2 + 5 H2O.
Step-by-step explanation:
To fill in the missing number and balance the chemical equation 1 C4H10O + ___ O2 → 4 CO2 + 5 H2O, we need to make sure that the number of atoms for each element is the same on both sides of the equation.
By examining the equation, we have:
- Products: C = 4, H = 10, O = 4 (from CO2) + 5 (from H2O) = 9
The carbons and hydrogens are already balanced, but to balance the oxygens, we need to modify the coefficient of O2 on the reactant side. We have 13 oxygen atoms on the product side (9 from CO2 and 4 from H2O). Because each O2 molecule contains two oxygen atoms, we need to add enough O2 to make 13 atoms on the reactant side. However, to keep the atoms in an even number, we add a coefficient that results in an even number of oxygens so it can be divided by 2 (the number of atoms per O2 molecule).
In this case, the closest even number we can get to 13 is 14, so we would need 7 O2 molecules to make up that number:
- Reactants: C = 4, H = 10, O = 14 (from 7 O2)
- Products: C = 4, H = 10, O = 13
By putting a coefficient of 7 in front of O2, we get:
1 C4H10O + 7 O2 → 4 CO2 + 5 H2O
Now the equation is balanced with 4 carbons, 10 hydrogens, and 14 oxygens on both sides.