If 5.4 moles of methane react with 3.5 moles of oxygen gas, how much carbon dioxide will be produced? Use the following equation:
CH4 + 2O2 = CO2 + 2H20
This is a limiting reagent (LR) problem.
1a. Using the coefficients in the balanced equation, convert mols CH4 to mols of CO2.
1b. Do the same for mols O2 to mols CO2.
1c. It is likely that these two values for CO2 will not be the same; the correct value in LR problems is ALWAYS the smaller value and the reagent responsible for that smaller value is the LR.
The post doesn't specify units for the CO2. You can convert mols CO2 to grams if you wish by grams = mols CO2 x molar mass CO2.
To determine the amount of carbon dioxide produced, we need to use the balanced equation for the reaction between methane (CH4) and oxygen gas (O2):
CH4 + 2O2 → CO2 + 2H2O
According to the equation, 1 mole of methane reacts with 2 moles of oxygen gas to produce 1 mole of carbon dioxide. Therefore, we can use the mole ratios from the balanced equation to solve the problem.
Given that we have 5.4 moles of methane (CH4) and 3.5 moles of oxygen gas (O2), we need to find out how much carbon dioxide (CO2) will be produced.
Step 1: Find the limiting reactant
To determine which reactant is limiting, we need to compare the mole ratios of the reactants to the balanced equation. The ratio of methane (CH4) to oxygen gas (O2) is 1:2.
If the ratio of moles given is 5.4 moles of methane (CH4) to 3.5 moles of oxygen gas (O2), we can find the limiting reactant:
5.4 moles CH4 / 1 mole CH4 = 3.5 moles O2 / x moles O2
Cross-multiplying:
5.4x = 3.5 * 1
5.4x = 3.5
x = 3.5 / 5.4
x ≈ 0.648 moles O2
Since we have less oxygen gas than required by the balanced equation, oxygen gas (O2) is the limiting reactant.
Step 2: Determine the amount of product
Now that we know oxygen gas (O2) is the limiting reactant, we can calculate the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) produced.
The ratio of moles of methane (CH4) to carbon dioxide (CO2) is also 1:1 from the balanced equation.
Therefore, the amount of carbon dioxide produced will be equal to the moles of methane.
CO2 = 5.4 moles
So, 5.4 moles of carbon dioxide (CO2) will be produced when 5.4 moles of methane (CH4) react with 3.5 moles of oxygen gas (O2).