Final answer:
The minimum mass of hexane that could be left over by the chemical reaction can be calculated using stoichiometry and the balanced chemical equation. Based on the given values, the minimum mass of hexane left over is approximately 3.23 g.
Step-by-step explanation:
In order to answer this question, we need to balance the chemical equation for the reaction between hexane and oxygen. The balanced equation is:
2C6H14 + 19O2 → 12CO2 + 14H2O
Using the balanced equation, we can calculate the moles of hexane and oxygen. Given that the mass of hexane is 7.76 g and the mass of oxygen is 42 g, we can calculate the moles of hexane:
Moles of hexane = 7.76 g / molar mass of hexane
The minimum mass of hexane that could be left over can be calculated using the mole ratio between hexane and oxygen from the balanced equation. From the equation, we can see that 2 moles of hexane react with 19 moles of oxygen. Therefore, the mole ratio is 2:19. Using this ratio, we can calculate the moles of oxygen:
Moles of oxygen = moles of hexane * (19/2)
Finally, we can convert the moles of oxygen to grams:
Mass of oxygen = moles of oxygen * molar mass of oxygen
The minimum mass of hexane that could be left over is the difference between the initial mass of hexane and the mass of oxygen:
Minimum mass of hexane left over = initial mass of hexane - mass of oxygen
Plugging in the given values and calculating the answer, we find that the minimum mass of hexane that could be left over is approximately 3.23 g.