Question

Hydrochloric acid and oxygen gas form water and chlorine gas. How many moles of oxygen are required to produce 4.59 moles of chlorine gas.

Answer 1

2.295 moles of O2 are needed.

Step-by-step explanation:

1st) It is necessary to write and balance the chemical reaction:

`4HCl+O_2\rightarrow2H_2O+2Cl_2`

2nd) From the balanced reaction we can see that to produce 2 moles of chlorine gas (Cl2), 1 mole of oxygen gas (O2) is needed. So, with a mathematical rule of three we can calculate the amount of oxygen gas moles needed to produce 4.59 moles of Cl2:

`\begin{gathered} 2\text{ moles Cl}_2-1\text{ mole O}_2 \\ 4.59\text{ moles Cl}_2-x=\frac{4.59\text{ moles Cl}_2*1\text{ mole O}_2}{2\text{ moles Cl}_2} \\ x=2.295\text{ moles O}_2 \end{gathered}`

Finally, 2.295 moles of O2 are needed