Question

Ammonium perchlorate is the solid rocket fuel used by the U.S. Space Shuttle. It reacts with itself to produce nitrogen gas , chlorine gas , oxygen gas , water , and a great deal of energy. What mass of oxygen gas is produced by the reaction of 4.1 g of ammonium perchlorate?

Answer 1

1.12 g of oxygen.

Step-by-step explanation:

First step is to determine the decomposition reaction:

Ammonium perchlorate → NH₄ClO₄

2NH₄ClO₄ (s) → N₂(g) + Cl₂(g) + 2O₂(g) + 4H₂O(g)

We define the moles of the reactant:

4.1 g . /117.45 g/mol = 0.0349 moles

As ratio is 2:2, If I use 0.0349 moles of perchlorate I would produce the same amount of moles of oxygen.

0.0349 mol of O₂ are produced by the reaction

We convert to mass: 0.0349 mol . 32 g /1mol = 1.12 g