the principal constituents of natural gas is methane which burns in air according to the reaction CH4+O2=CO2+H2O
How many grams of CO2 is produced when you have 50g of both CH4 and O2
what is the limiting reactant?
First step: balance the equation
To determine the number of grams of CO2 produced and identify the limiting reactant, we need to calculate the amount of CO2 produced from each reactant and compare the results.
First, we calculate the amount of CO2 produced from 50 g of methane (CH4). We can use the stoichiometric coefficients from the balanced equation to determine the molar ratio between methane and CO2. The coefficient in front of CH4 is 1, while the coefficient in front of CO2 is also 1.
The molar mass of CO2 is 44 g/mol. So, we can set up the following calculation:
50 g CH4 * (1 mol CH4/16.04 g CH4) * (1 mol CO2/1 mol CH4) * (44.01 g CO2/1 mol CO2) = grams of CO2 produced from CH4
Simplifying the calculation:
50 g CH4 * (44.01 g CO2/16.04 g CH4) = grams of CO2 produced from CH4
Next, we calculate the amount of CO2 produced from 50 g of oxygen (O2). Again, we use the stoichiometric coefficients to determine the molar ratio between oxygen and CO2. The coefficient in front of O2 is 1, while the coefficient in front of CO2 is also 1.
The molar mass of O2 is 32 g/mol. Setting up the calculation:
50 g O2 * (1 mol O2/32.00 g O2) * (1 mol CO2/1 mol O2) * (44.01 g CO2/1 mol CO2) = grams of CO2 produced from O2
Simplifying the calculation:
50 g O2 * (44.01 g CO2/32.00 g O2) = grams of CO2 produced from O2
Compare the two calculated amounts of CO2 produced from CH4 and O2. The limiting reactant is the one that produces the lower amount of CO2. Whichever reactant produces less CO2 is the limiting reactant because the reaction cannot continue beyond the amount that is available in the limiting reactant.
By comparing the results, you can determine the limiting reactant and the corresponding amount of CO2 produced.