Final answer:
The mass of SO₂ that will be formed is 120.0 g. The correct option is (d).
Step-by-step explanation:
To determine how much SO₂ will be formed, we need to calculate the limiting reactant. First, we convert the given masses of sulfur and oxygen to moles using their molar masses.
Sulfur has a molar mass of 32.07 g/mol, so 20.0 g of sulfur is equal to 0.624 mol. Oxygen has a molar mass of 32.00 g/mol, so 16.0 g of oxygen is equal to 0.500 mol.
Next, we compare the mole ratio of S to O₂ in the balanced equation. The ratio is 1:8, which means that 1 mole of S reacts with 8 moles of O₂ to produce 8 moles of SO₂ .
Since we have fewer moles of sulfur than oxygen, sulfur is the limiting reactant. Therefore, the maximum amount of SO₂ that can be formed is 8 moles. The molar mass of SO₂ is 64.07 g/mol, so the mass of 8 moles of SO₂ is 512.56 g.
Therefore, the correct answer is d) 120.0 g.