Final answer:
To calculate the grams of oxygen consumed to form 4.550 x 10^24 molecules of water, we convert molecules to moles of water and use stoichiometry to find moles of oxygen, then multiply by the molar mass of oxygen.
Step-by-step explanation:
To determine how many grams of oxygen were consumed to produce 4.550 x 1024 molecules of water (H2O), we first need to understand the mole concept and Avogadro's number. We know from the balanced chemical equation, 2H2 + O2 → 2H2O, that 2 moles of hydrogen (H2) react with 1 mole of oxygen (O2) to produce 2 moles of water. One mole of any substance contains 6.022 x 1023 entities (atoms, molecules, etc.), known as Avogadro's number, and therefore 4.550 x 1024 molecules of water is equivalent to 4.550 x 1024 / 6.022 x 1023 moles of water.
Next, we use the stoichiometry from the balanced equation to find that for every 2 moles of water produced, 1 mole of O2 is consumed. Hence, the moles of O2 consumed are half the moles of H2O produced. Now we calculate the moles of water produced from the given number of molecules and then find the corresponding moles of O2 needed. We can then multiply the moles of O2 by the molar mass of oxygen (32.00 g/mole) to find the grams of oxygen consumed.