Calculate the mass in grams of carbon needed to produce 160 g of CO2 in burning: C + O2 --> CO2

C + O2 ==> CO2

mols CO2 needed = grams/molar mass.
Using the coefficients in the balanced equation, convert mols CO2 to mols C.
Now convert mols C to grams. g = mols x molar mass

To calculate the mass of carbon needed to produce 160 g of CO2, we need to use the balanced chemical equation and the molar mass of carbon.

The balanced chemical equation for the combustion of carbon to form carbon dioxide (CO2) is:

C + O2 --> CO2

From the equation, we can see that one molecule of carbon (C) reacts with one molecule of oxygen (O2) to produce one molecule of carbon dioxide (CO2).

The molar mass of carbon is 12.01 g/mol, and the molar mass of carbon dioxide is 44.01 g/mol.

Let's solve step by step:

Step 1: Determine the moles of carbon dioxide (CO2) produced.

To find the moles of CO2, we can use the equation:

moles = mass / molar mass

moles of CO2 = 160 g / 44.01 g/mol ≈ 3.63 mol

Step 2: Determine the moles of carbon (C) required.

Since the balanced equation shows a 1:1 ratio between carbon dioxide (CO2) and carbon (C), the moles of carbon are the same as the moles of carbon dioxide.

moles of C = 3.63 mol

Step 3: Calculate the mass of carbon (C) required.

To find the mass of carbon, we can use the equation:

mass = moles * molar mass

mass of C = 3.63 mol * 12.01 g/mol ≈ 43.6 g

Therefore, the mass of carbon needed to produce 160 g of CO2 is approximately 43.6 grams.