The following chemical equation shows the incomplete formula for burning methanol. The question mark represents the unknown number of oxygen (O2) molecules. How many molecules of O2 are needed to balance this chemical equation?
2CH₃OH + ?O₂ > 2CO₂ + 4H₂O
A. 1
B. 3
C. 5
D. 6
Please Help!!
so 3?
count the O atoms on both sides of the reaction
... then add what you need to balance
2 from methanol , 4 from carbon dioxide , 4 from water
how many MOLECULES to balance? ... 2 atoms per molecule
yup
thank you
To balance the chemical equation, you need to ensure that there are an equal number of atoms on both sides of the equation. In this case, let's start by balancing the carbon (C) atoms.
The left side of the equation has two carbon atoms in the methanol (CH₃OH), while the right side has two carbon atoms in the carbon dioxide (CO₂). So, the carbon is already balanced.
Now, let's balance the hydrogen (H) atoms.
The left side of the equation has six hydrogen atoms in the two methanol molecules (2CH₃OH), while the right side has eight hydrogen atoms in the four water molecules (4H₂O). To balance the hydrogen atoms, we need two more hydrogen atoms on the left side.
Since each molecule of O₂ contains two oxygen atoms, two oxygen atoms are required to balance each molecule of O₂.
Therefore, we need 2 molecules of O₂ to produce four additional hydrogen atoms.
So the correct answer is:
B. 3 molecules of O₂