Final answer:
The balanced chemical equation for nitrogen reacting with hydrogen to produce ammonia is N₂ (g) + 3H₂ (g) → 2NH₃ (g). To produce 11.35 g of NH₃, one would need 9.33 g of nitrogen based on the stoichiometry of the reaction.
Step-by-step explanation:
The balanced chemical equation for the reaction in which nitrogen (N) reacts with hydrogen (H) to produce ammonia (NH₃) is:
N₂ (g) + 3H₂ (g) → 2NH₃ (g)
This equation tells us that one mole of nitrogen reacts with three moles of hydrogen to produce two moles of ammonia. These coefficients represent the smallest whole-number ratios required to balance the chemical equation, a convention important for understanding the stoichiometry of reactions.
According to this balanced equation, if 11.35 g of NH₃ are produced, we can start by calculating the number of moles of NH₃ this mass represents. Since the molar mass of NH₃ is approximately 17.03 g/mol, we can divide the mass by the molar mass to find the moles of NH₃:
11.35 g NH₃ × (1 mol NH₃ / 17.03 g NH₃) = 0.666 moles NH₃
From the balanced equation, we see that the ratio of NH₃ produced from nitrogen is 2:1. Therefore, to find the moles of nitrogen needed, we use this ratio:
0.666 moles NH₃ × (1 mol N₂ / 2 mol NH₃) = 0.333 moles N₂
Lastly, multiplying by the molar mass of nitrogen (28.02 g/mol) gives us the mass of nitrogen needed:
0.333 moles N₂ × (28.02 g N₂ / 1 mol N₂) = 9.33 g of N₂