Final answer:
The balanced chemical equation for the combustion of C12H26, including state symbols, is 2C12H26(l) + 37O2(g) → 24CO2(g) + 26H2O(l). The process of balancing involves ensuring that the number of atoms for each element is conserved across both sides of the equation.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student's question is about writing a balanced chemical equation for the combustion of a hydrocarbon, specifically C12H26. To write a balanced equation for the combustion of C12H26, we must ensure that the number of atoms of each element is the same on both the reactant and product sides of the equation. The combustion reaction involves the reactant (C12H26 in this case), reacting with oxygen (O2) to produce carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O).
The balanced equation for the complete combustion of dodecane (C12H26) is:
2C12H26(l) + 37O2(g) → 24CO2(g) + 26H2O(l)
In this equation, we include state symbols to represent the physical states of the substances: (l) for liquid, (g) for gas. The balanced equation demonstrates the law of conservation of mass, with twelve carbon atoms and twenty-six hydrogen atoms from the hydrocarbon and seventy-four oxygen atoms from the oxygen gas resulting in twenty-four carbon dioxide molecules (each with one carbon and two oxygen atoms), and twenty-six water molecules (each with two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom).