Question

What volume of oxygen gas reacts with 20.0 mL of hydrogen chloride? (Assume temperature and pressure remain constant.)

__HCI(g) + __O₂(g) → __CI₂(g) + __H₂O(g)

A) 5.00 mL.
B) 10.0 mL
C) 20.0 mL
D) 40.0 mL
E) none of the above

Answer 1

The balanced equation 4HCl(g) + O₂(g) → 2Cl₂(g) + 2H₂O(g) indicates that 20.0 mL of HCl will react with 5.00 mL of O₂. Thus, the correct answer is A) 5.00 mL of oxygen gas required to react with 20.0 mL of hydrogen chloride.

Step-by-step explanation:

When determining what volume of oxygen gas reacts with hydrogen chloride (HCl), one must first look at the balanced chemical equation. However, the reaction provided in the question, HCl(g) + O₂(g) → Cl₂(g) + H₂O(g), does not represent a common or typical reaction between hydrogen chloride and oxygen.

Under standard conditions, hydrogen chloride reacts with oxygen in the presence of a suitable catalyst to form chlorine gas and water in the following reaction:

4HCl(g) + O₂(g) → 2Cl₂(g) + 2H₂O(g).

Based on this correct chemical equation and assuming the reaction goes to completion, it can be said that 20.0 mL of HCl would react completely with 5.00 mL of O₂. Therefore, when considering ideal gas behavior (where volume ratios can be directly used to infer stoichiometric ratios at constant temperature and pressure), the correct answer would be A) 5.00 mL.