Ammonia decompose upon intense heating to produce nitrogen and hydrogen elemental products. Write a balanced equation and then use stoichiometry problem solving to determin the mass of nitrogen product that can form if exactly 25.50g of ammonia is fully decomposed.
To write a balanced equation for the decomposition of ammonia, you need to determine the stoichiometric coefficients of each reactant and product. The balanced equation is as follows:
2NH3 → N2 + 3H2
This equation shows that 2 molecules of ammonia (NH3) decompose to produce 1 molecule of nitrogen (N2) and 3 molecules of hydrogen (H2).
To solve the stoichiometry problem and determine the mass of nitrogen produced, you need to follow these steps:
Step 1: Calculate the molar mass of ammonia (NH3).
The molar mass of ammonia (NH3) is calculated by adding the atomic masses of nitrogen (N) and hydrogen (H) in one molecule of ammonia.
Molar mass of NH3 = (1 mol N) + (3 mol H)
= (14.01 g/mol) + (3 × 1.01 g/mol)
= 17.03 g/mol
Step 2: Convert the given mass of ammonia to moles.
To convert grams to moles, divide the given mass by the molar mass of ammonia.
Moles of NH3 = Mass of NH3 / Molar mass of NH3
= 25.50 g / 17.03 g/mol
≈ 1.50 mol
Step 3: Use stoichiometry to determine the moles of nitrogen produced.
From the balanced equation, you can see that 2 moles of ammonia decompose to produce 1 mole of nitrogen.
Moles of N2 = (1.50 mol NH3) × (1 mol N2 / 2 mol NH3)
= 0.75 mol
Step 4: Convert the moles of nitrogen to mass.
To convert moles to grams, multiply the moles of nitrogen by the molar mass of nitrogen.
Mass of N2 = Moles of N2 × Molar mass of N2
= 0.75 mol × 28.01 g/mol
≈ 21.01 g
Therefore, approximately 21.01 grams of nitrogen can be formed when exactly 25.50 grams of ammonia is fully decomposed.