(You may have seen this before) A crude oil burned in electrical generating plants contains about 1.2% sulfur by mass. When the oil burns, the sulfur forms sulfur dioxide gas:

S(s) + O2(g) -------> SO2(g)

How many liters of SO2 (d = 2.60 g/L) are produced when 1.00 x 104 kg of oil burns at the same temperature and pressure?

Is my work correct?
1.00 x 10^4 kg of oil * 1.2% = 1.2 x 10^2 kg of sulfur
1.2 x 10^5 g of sulfur * (1 mol/32 g) = 3.75 * 10^3 mol S
3.75 * 10^3 mol S * (1 mol SO2/ 1 mol S) = 3.75 * 10^3 mol SO2
3.75 * 10^3 mol SO2 * (64 g / 1 mol SO2) = 2.4 * 10^5 SO2
2.4 * 10^5 g SO2 / (2.60 g/L) =
9.23 * 10^4 L SO2

seems awefully large, but i don't think i did anything wrong

Your calculations are correct, but you made an error when converting grams of SO2 to liters.

Let's go through the calculations step by step:

1. Calculate the mass of sulfur in the oil:
1.00 x 10^4 kg x 0.012 = 1.2 x 10^2 kg

2. Convert the mass of sulfur to moles:
1.2 x 10^2 kg x (1 mol/32 g) = 3.75 x 10^3 mol S

3. Convert moles of sulfur to moles of sulfur dioxide:
3.75 x 10^3 mol S x (1 mol SO2/1 mol S) = 3.75 x 10^3 mol SO2

4. Convert moles of SO2 to grams of SO2:
3.75 x 10^3 mol SO2 x (64 g/1 mol SO2) = 2.4 x 10^5 g SO2

Now, let's convert grams of SO2 to liters:

5. Convert grams of SO2 to kilograms:
2.4 x 10^5 g SO2 x (1 kg/1000 g) = 2.4 x 10^2 kg SO2

6. Convert kilograms of SO2 to liters:
2.4 x 10^2 kg SO2 x (1 L/2.60 g) = 9.23 x 10^1 L SO2

So, the correct answer is 92.3 liters of SO2, not 9.23 x 10^4 liters.

Your calculations appear to be correct. However, there seems to be an error in the units conversion.

To convert from grams of SO2 to liters of SO2 gas, you need to divide the mass of SO2 in grams by its density in grams per liter.

In your calculations, you have correctly determined that the mass of SO2 produced is 2.4 x 10^5 grams. However, when you divide this value by the density of SO2 (2.60 g/L), you made an error:

2.4 x 10^5 g SO2 / (2.60 g/L) = 9.23 x 10^4 L SO2

So, it seems that your final result is indeed correct: approximately 9.23 x 10^4 liters of SO2 gas are produced when 1.00 x 10^4 kg of oil burns.

Make sure to double-check your calculations and ensure that all conversions are done correctly to avoid errors.

It looks ok to me and I agree it sounds large but I don't see anything wrong.