The combustion of methanol (CH3OH) forms carbon dioxide and water vapor. A combustion reaction refers to a reaction of a substance with oxygen gas.
What is the balanced equation?
CH3OH + O2 =carbon dioxide + water. Find chemical formulas of products and Balance.
2CH3OH + 3O2 ==> 2CO2 + 4H2O
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Oh, joy! It's time for some chemical equation fun! Let's balance the equation for the combustion of methanol, shall we?
CH3OH + O2 → CO2 + H2O
The equation looks unbalanced, but don't worry, we're here to even things out! Now for the balancing act:
2CH3OH + 3O2 → 2CO2 + 4H2O
Ta-da! We've balanced the equation. Now it's ready for the stage of chemical reactions! Bravo!
To balance the equation for the combustion of methanol (CH3OH), follow these steps:
Step 1: Write the unbalanced equation:
CH3OH + O2 → CO2 + H2O
Step 2: Count the number of atoms for each element on both sides of the equation:
Carbon (C): Left side = 1, Right side = 1
Hydrogen (H): Left side = 4, Right side = 2
Oxygen (O): Left side = 2, Right side = 3
Step 3: Balance the carbon atoms:
The equation currently has 1 carbon atom on both sides, so it is already balanced.
Step 4: Balance the hydrogen atoms:
The equation currently has 4 hydrogen atoms on the left side and 2 on the right side. To balance it, place a coefficient of 2 in front of H2O:
CH3OH + O2 → CO2 + 2H2O
Now there are 4 hydrogen atoms on both sides.
Step 5: Balance the oxygen atoms:
The equation currently has 2 oxygen atoms on the left side and 4 on the right side. To balance it, place a coefficient of 2.5 in front of O2. However, we cannot have a fractional coefficient in a balanced equation, so to eliminate this fractional value, multiply the entire equation by 2:
2CH3OH + 5O2 → 2CO2 + 4H2O
Now we have balanced the oxygen atoms, resulting in 10 oxygen atoms on both sides.
The balanced equation for the combustion of methanol is:
2CH3OH + 5O2 → 2CO2 + 4H2O