Question

candles are made of paraffin wax (C₂₅H₅₂). when paraffin burns in oxygen, carbon dioxide and water are produced. an experiment begins with exactly 500.00 grams of each reactant. determine the mass of water that can be produced. (for your convenience, the molar mass of (C₂₅H₅₂) is 353.26 g/mol.)

Answer 1

The mass of water that can be produced when paraffin burns in oxygen is 662.75 grams.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the mass of water that can be produced when paraffin burns in oxygen, we need to use stoichiometry. The balanced equation for the combustion of paraffin is:

2C₂₅H₅₂ + 71O₂ ⟶ 50CO₂ + 52H₂O

From the equation, we can see that for every 52 moles of water produced, 2 moles of paraffin are consumed. And since we have 500.00 grams of paraffin, which has a molar mass of 353.26 g/mol, we can calculate the moles of paraffin:

moles of paraffin = mass of paraffin / molar mass of paraffin = 500.00 g / 353.26 g/mol = 1.415 mol

Now, using the mole ratio from the balanced equation, we can calculate the moles of water produced:

moles of water = moles of paraffin x (52 moles H₂O / 2 moles paraffin) = 1.415 mol x (52 / 2) = 36.78 mol

Finally, we can convert the moles of water to grams:

mass of water = moles of water x molar mass of water = 36.78 mol x 18.02 g/mol = 662.75 g