Question

When carbon is burned in air, it reacts with oxygen to form carbon dioxide. When 16.8 g of carbon were burned in the presence of 59.4 g of oxygen, 14.6 g of oxygen remained unreacted. What mass of carbon dioxide was produced?

Answer 1

61.6 g

Step-by-step explanation:

Step 1: Write the balanced equation

C + O₂ → CO₂

Since there are 14.6 g of oxygen that remain unreacted by the end of the reaction, oxygen is the reactant in excess and carbon is the limiting reactant, thus the one used to calculate the mass of carbon dioxide produced.

Step 2: Calculate the moles corresponding to 16.8 g of C

The molar mass of C is 12.01 g/mol

16.8 g × 1 mol/12.01 g = 1.40 mol

Step 3: Calculate the number of moles of CO₂ produced from 1.40 moles of C

The molar ratio of C to CO₂ is 1:1. The moles of CO₂ produced are 1/1 × 1.40 mol = 1.40 mol.

Step 4: Calculate the mass corresponding to 1.40 moles of CO₂

The molar mass of CO₂ is 44.01 g/mol.

1.40 mol × 44.01 g/mol = 61.6 g