Write the balanced camical equation for the complete combustion of propane C3H8, a fuel used in gas grills (carbon dioxide and water are products).
This is the WRONG answer that I got...
2(C3H8) + 7(02) -> 3(CO2) + 8(H20)
Can anybody help me?
2(C3H8) + 7(02) -> 3(CO2) + 8(H20)
You can check these things to know if the equation is balanced or not. Let me show you how.
I see 6 C on the left(2x3=6 from 2C3H8) but just 3 on the right. H is ok. There are 14 O on the left (7 O2 = 7 x 2 = 14) and 14 on the right.
2C3H8 + 10 02 -> 6CO2 + 8H20
Now check it and each atom will balance.
Thank youuu. I understand that.
c3h8 + 5o2 --> 3co2 + 4h20
You're welcome! I'm glad you understand now. Balancing chemical equations is an important skill in chemistry, as it ensures that the number of atoms on both sides of the equation is equal.
To balance the equation, you want to make sure that the number of each type of atom is the same on both sides of the equation. In this case, you correctly identified that there were 6 carbon atoms on the left side (2 x 3 = 6) but only 3 carbon atoms on the right side. To balance the carbon, you need to put a coefficient of 2 in front of the carbon dioxide (CO2), so you have 2 x 3 = 6 carbon atoms on both sides.
Similarly, for hydrogen (H), you have 8 hydrogen atoms on the right side (4 x 2 = 8), but only 6 hydrogen atoms on the left side (2 x 3 = 6). To balance the hydrogen, you need to put a coefficient of 4 in front of water (H2O), so you have 4 x 2 = 8 hydrogen atoms on both sides.
Finally, for oxygen (O), you correctly identified that there are 14 oxygen atoms on both sides. This is because there are 7 molecules of oxygen (O2) on the left side, each containing 2 oxygen atoms. On the right side, there are 3 molecules of carbon dioxide (CO2), each containing 2 oxygen atoms, and 4 molecules of water (H2O), each containing 1 oxygen atom.
By balancing the equation, we get:
2 C3H8 + 10 O2 -> 6 CO2 + 8 H2O
Now, each type of atom is balanced on both sides of the equation.