Question

Combustion of hydrocarbons such as nonane (C9H20) produces carbon dioxide, a "greenhouse gas." Greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere can trap the Sun's heat, raising the average temperature of the Earth. For this reason there has been a great deal of international discussion about whether to regulate the production of carbon dioxide. 1. Write a balanced chemical equation, including physical state symbols, for the combustion of liquid nonane into gaseous carbon dioxide and gaseous water.

2. Suppose 0.210kg of nonane are burned in air at a pressure of exactly 1atm and a temperature of 15.0°C. Calculate the volume of carbon dioxide gas that is produced. Round your answer to 3 significant digits.

Answer 1

349 L (To 3 significant figures)

Step-by-step explanation:

The reaction equation is;

C9H20(l) + 14O2(g) ------> 9CO2(g) + 10H2O(g)

number of moles of nonane in 0.210 Kg = mass/molar mass

molar mass of nonane = 9(12) + 20(1) = 128 gmol-1

Hence number of moles = 0.210 * 10^3g/128 gmol-1 = 1.64 moles

If 1 mole of nonane produced 9 moles of CO2 from the balanced reaction equation;

1.64 moles of nonane will produce 1.64 * 9/1 = 14.76 moles of CO2

Now from the ideal gas equation;

PV=nRT

P = 1 atm

V= the unknown

n= 14.76

R = 0.082 atmLmol-1K-1

T = 15 + 273 = 288 K

V= nRT/P

V = 14.76 * 0.082 * 288/1

V = 348.57 L