In winemaking, the sugars in grapes undergo fermentation by yeast to yield CH3CH2OH and CO2. During cellular respiration, sugar and enthanol are "burned" to water vapor andCO2.
Write a combustion reaction for ethanol.
I need help with balancing the equation
i think it's
C2H6OH(l) + 3O2(g) ---> 2CO2(g) + 3H2O(g)
am I correct?..thanks!•chemistry - paul, Sunday, October 25, 2015 at 3:06pm
looks good to me, except the C2H6OH should be C2H5OH.
comment:
I did that, but it said...try again!
then it said HINT:
Start by writing a balanced chemical equation for the fermentation reaction of C6H12O6 and for the respiration reaction (combustion) of C6H12O6...what formula should be used to find the standard enthalpy of a reaction? Use the standard enthalpy of formation values from your textbook when calculating the standard enthalpy of reaction for both fermentation and respiration. thanks!
To write a balanced combustion reaction for ethanol (C2H5OH), you need to make sure that the number of atoms on both sides of the equation is the same. Let's go through the balancing process step by step:
1. Start with the unbalanced equation:
C2H5OH + O2 → CO2 + H2O
2. Count the number of atoms on each side of the equation:
Carbon (C): 2 on the left, 1 on the right
Hydrogen (H): 6 on the left, 2 on the right
Oxygen (O): 1 on the left, 3 on the right
3. Balance the carbons by multiplying CO2 on the right side by 2:
C2H5OH + O2 → 2CO2 + H2O
4. Balance the hydrogens by multiplying H2O on the right side by 3:
C2H5OH + O2 → 2CO2 + 3H2O
5. Balance the oxygens by adding O2 on the left side:
C2H5OH + 3O2 → 2CO2 + 3H2O
Therefore, the balanced combustion reaction for ethanol is:
C2H5OH + 3O2 → 2CO2 + 3H2O
Please note that ethanol is represented by C2H5OH, not C2H6OH.
To write a balanced combustion reaction for ethanol, we need to make sure that the number of atoms on both sides of the equation is equal. Here's the correct balanced equation:
C2H5OH(l) + 3O2(g) → 2CO2(g) + 3H2O(g)
So, you were correct in terms of the stoichiometry of the reaction. However, make sure you correctly write "C2H5OH" instead of "C2H6OH" for ethanol.