Sulfuric acid is prepared commercially from elemental sulfur using the contact process. In a typical sequence of reactions, the sulfur is first burned: S + O2 yields SO2, then it is converted to SO3 using a catalyst: 2SO3 + O2 yields 2SO3. The resulting SO3 is reacted with water to produce the desired product: SO3 + H2O yields H2SO4. How much sulfuric acid could be prepared from 49 moles of sulfur?

Answer in units of g

S + O2 = SO2

2SO2 + O2 ==> 2SO3
SO3 + H2O ==> H2SO4
This is a simple stoichiometry problem made a little more complicated because you must deal with three reactions instead of one. You COULD work three problems (For example: 49 mols S will prepare x mols SO2, x mols SO2 will prepare y mol SO3, y mols SO3 will prepare z mols H2SO4. A little shorter way is to do all of the equations at once this way.
49 mol S x (1 mol SO2/1 mol S) x (2 mol SO3/2 mols SO2) x (1 mol H2SO4/1 mol SO3) = 49 mol H2SO4 when all of the numerators and denominators are canceled.
Then g H2SO4 = mols H2SO4 x molar mass H2SO4. The answer is about 49mols x 98g/mol = about 4802 g H2SO4.

To determine how much sulfuric acid (H2SO4) can be prepared from 49 moles of sulfur (S), we need to use stoichiometry.

First, let's find the molar mass of sulfuric acid:
H2SO4: 2 hydrogens x 1 g/mol + 1 sulfur x 32 g/mol + 4 oxygens x 16 g/mol = 98 g/mol

Next, we'll set up the stoichiometric ratios based on the balanced chemical equation:
S + O2 → SO2 (1 mole of sulfur produces 1 mole of sulfur dioxide)
2SO2 + O2 → 2SO3 (2 moles of sulfur dioxide produce 2 moles of sulfur trioxide)
SO3 + H2O → H2SO4 (1 mole of sulfur trioxide produces 1 mole of sulfuric acid)

Based on the given sequence of reactions, the molar ratio between sulfur and sulfuric acid is 1:1. Therefore, 49 moles of sulfur will produce 49 moles of sulfuric acid.

To convert moles of sulfuric acid to grams, multiply by the molar mass of sulfuric acid:
49 moles x 98 g/mol = 4802 g

Therefore, 49 moles of sulfur can produce 4802 grams of sulfuric acid.

To determine the amount of sulfuric acid that can be prepared from 49 moles of sulfur, we need to calculate the molar mass of sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and then convert the moles of sulfur into moles of sulfuric acid. Finally, we can convert the moles of sulfuric acid into grams.

The molar mass of sulfuric acid (H2SO4) can be calculated as follows:
Molar mass of H2SO4 = (2* Atomic mass of H) + Atomic mass of S + (4 * Atomic mass of O)
= (2 * 1.008) + 32.06 + (4 * 16.00)
= 2.016 + 32.06 + 64.00
= 98.076 g/mol

Now, let's calculate the moles of sulfuric acid that can be prepared from 49 moles of sulfur. From the balanced equation, we know that 1 mole of sulfur reacts to form 1 mole of sulfuric acid (H2SO4).

Therefore, the moles of sulfuric acid = 49 moles

Finally, let's convert moles of sulfuric acid to grams using the molar mass:
Mass = Moles * Molar mass
= 49 moles * 98.076 g/mol
= 4801.524 g

Therefore, 49 moles of sulfur can produce 4801.524 grams of sulfuric acid.