Question

A chemist heated a sample of steel wool in a burner flame exposed to oxygen in the air. He also heated a sample of steel wool in a container of nearly 100% oxygen. The steel wool sample in the container reacted faster than the other sample. a.Explain why.

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation:

Explanation

Look at the equation that describes what is going on.

4Fe(s)+3O2(g)⟶2Fe2O3

Air is about 20% oxygen. The flame of steel wool is a gentle one since the oxygen is in limited supply.

Steel wool is about 99 % Iron. The rection above tells you that when steel wool ignites, it becomes Fe+3

Answer: The rule is the more oxygen you have, the more violent the burning process.