Question

Consider the combustion of ethylene, C2H4 + 3 O2(g) 2 H2O(g) . If the concentration of C2H4 is decreasing at the rate of 0.036 M/s, what are the rates of change in the concentrations of O2 and H2O?

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation:

Using the stoichiometry of the balanced equation, we can see that for every mole of C2H4 consumed, three moles of O2 and two moles of H2O are produced. Therefore, the rate of change in the concentration of O2 is:

- (0.036 M/s) x (3 mol O2/1 mol C2H4) = -0.108 M/s

The negative sign indicates that the concentration of O2 is decreasing as it is being consumed in the reaction.

Similarly, the rate of change in the concentration of H2O is:

(0.036 M/s) x (2 mol H2O/1 mol C2H4) = 0.072 M/s

The positive sign indicates that the concentration of H2O is increasing as it is being produced in the reaction.