When a fuel that contains sulfur is burned,the sulfur is converted to SO2. Suppose all of this SO2 is then oxidized in the atmosphere to SO3. The SO3 dissolves in atmospheric moisture to form sulfuric acid (H2SO4) contributing to acid rain. A particular fuel contains 1% sulfur. How much atmospheric H2SO4 could be formed by burning 11.4 tons of this fuel?

Answer in units of tons.

S + O2 ==> SO2

2SO2 + O2 ==> 2SO3
SO3 + H2O ==> H2SO4

1 mol S = 1 mol SO2 = 1 mol SO3 = 1 mol H2SO4.
S0 11.4 tons of fuel, if all 1% is converted to H2SO4. would be 11.4 x 0.01 = ? tons.

Thanks!

To calculate the amount of atmospheric H2SO4 that could be formed by burning the fuel, we need to determine the mass of sulfur in the fuel and then convert it to the mass of sulfuric acid.

1. Calculate the mass of sulfur in the fuel:
The fuel contains 1% sulfur, so the mass of sulfur in 11.4 tons of fuel can be calculated as follows:
Mass of sulfur = (1/100) * 11.4 tons = 0.114 tons

2. Convert the mass of sulfur to the mass of sulfuric acid:
The molecular formula of sulfuric acid is H2SO4. From the formula, we can deduce that the molar mass of sulfuric acid is:
Molar mass of H2SO4 = 2*(molar mass of H) + molar mass of S + 4*(molar mass of O)
Molar mass of H2SO4 = 2*(1.00784 g/mol) + 32.06 g/mol + 4*(16.00 g/mol)
Molar mass of H2SO4 = 98.08 g/mol

To convert the mass of sulfur to the mass of sulfuric acid, we need to use the molar ratio between sulfur and sulfuric acid:
1 mol of sulfur reacts to produce 1 mol of sulfuric acid (according to the balanced equation).

Now, we'll convert tons of sulfur to tons of sulfuric acid:
Mass of H2SO4 = (0.114 tons S) * (1 mol S / 32.06 g) * (98.08 g H2SO4 / 1 mol S) * (1 ton / 1,000 kg) = 0.0365 tons

Therefore, by burning 11.4 tons of this fuel, approximately 0.0365 tons of atmospheric H2SO4 could be formed.