Question

Copper reacts with silver nitrate to produce silver and copper(II) nitrate according to the equation below: Cu + 2AgNO3 →Cu(NO3)2 + 2Ag Calculate the number of moles of copper(II) nitrate produced when 5 moles of copper react. Type your answer as a number with 1 significant figure. Make sure to include the correct units in your answer. Units are a type of measurement i.e. gram (g) or mole (mol). Do not include the chemical formula in your answer. Answer:

Answer 1

`5\; \rm mol` of
`\rm Cu(NO_3)_2` would be produced (assuming that reaction does not run out of
`\rm AgNO_3` until all the
`\rm Cu` was converted.)

Step-by-step explanation:

Make sure that the equation for this reaction is indeed balanced:

`\rm Cu + 2\, AgNO_3 \to Cu(NO_3)_2 + 2\, Ag`.

The coefficient of
`\rm Cu` and
`\rm Cu(NO_3)_2` are not shown. That implies that the coefficient of both species would be
`1`. In other words, the actual equation for this reaction should be:

`\rm 1\; Cu + 2\; AgNO_3 \to 1\; Cu(NO_3)_2 + 2\; Ag`.

Coefficient of
`\rm Cu` in this equation:
`1`.

Coefficient of
`\rm Cu(NO_3)_2` in this equation:
`1`.

Thus, the ratio between the coefficient of
`\rm Cu(NO_3)_2` and that of
`\rm Cu` would be
`(1 / 1 ) = 1`.

Assume that
`\rm Cu` is the limiting reactant of this reaction (that is: this reaction runs out of
`\rm Cu\!` before running out of any other reactant.) This coefficient ratio would be equal to the ratio between:

• 
  `n(\rm Cu(NO_3)_2)`, the number of moles of
  `\rm Cu(NO_3)_2` produced, and
• 
  `n(\rm Cu)`, the number of moles of
  `\rm Cu` consumed.

Hence, under the assumption that
`\rm Cu` is the limiting reactant:

`\displaystyle (n(\rm Cu(NO_3)_2))/(n(\rm Cu)) = \frac{\text{coefficient of $\rm Cu(NO_3)_2$}}{\text{coefficient of $\rm Cu$}} = (1)/(1) = 1`.

The question states that
`5\; \rm mol` of
`\rm Cu` was available. That is:
`n({\rm Cu}) = 5\; \rm mol`. Assume that
`\rm Cu\!` is indeed the limiting reactant.

`\begin{aligned} n({\rm Cu(NO_3)_2}) &= (n(\rm Cu(NO_3)_2))/(n(\rm Cu)) \cdot n(\rm Cu) \\ &= 1 * (5\; \rm mol) = 5\; \rm mol\end{aligned}`.

Hence, under this assumption,
`5\; \rm mol` of
`\rm Cu(NO_3)_2` would be produced.