Final answer:
To determine the grams of sodium azide needed to produce 11.0 g of nitrogen gas, one must calculate the moles of nitrogen using its molar mass, then use the stoichiometry of the balanced equation to find the moles of sodium azide required, and finally convert these moles to grams using the molar mass of sodium azide.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student is asking about the amount of sodium azide (NaN₃) needed to produce a certain amount of nitrogen gas (N₂), based on a chemical reaction. To find out how many grams of NaN₃ are needed to form 11.0 g of N₂, we need to use the balanced chemical equation and molar masses of the compounds. The balanced equation for the decomposition of sodium azide is:
2NaN₃ (s) → 2Na (s) + 3N₂ (g)
First, we calculate the number of moles of N₂ using its molar mass (28.01 g/mol). For 11.0 g of N₂:
Number of moles of N₂ = 11.0 g / 28.01 g/mol
Based on the balanced equation, 2 moles of NaN₃ produce 3 moles of N₂. Thus, we can set up a ratio to find the required moles of NaN₃:
(Moles of N₂) × (2 moles of NaN₃ / 3 moles of N₂) = Moles of NaN₃ needed
Then we convert the moles of NaN₃ to grams using its molar mass (65 g/mol):
Moles of NaN₃ × 65 g/mol = Grams of NaN₃ required
Following these steps will provide the mass of NaN₃ needed to form 11.0 g of N₂