Methane reacts with an excess of chlorine gas.
[it's an equation]
I have the reactants:
CH4(g) + Cl2(g) --> ?
I was thinking single replacement, making CCl4 for sure. I'm just not sure about that hydrogen, unless it's just H2, and when balanced the full reaction is this:
CH4 (g) + 2Cl2 (g) --> CCl4 + 2H2
?
Methane + Cl2 produces several products, starting with the replacement of 1 H with 1 Cl.
CH4 + Cl2 ==> CH3Cl + HCl
CH3Cl + Cl2 ==> CH2Cl2 + HCl
CH2Cl2 + Cl2 ==> CHCl3 + HCl
CHCl3 + HCl ==> CCl4 + HCl
I don't know the percentages formed but pure CH4 mixed with Cl2 can give any and/or all of the above. The H always goes with the lone Cl to form HCl.
To determine the products of the reaction between methane (CH4) and chlorine gas (Cl2), you need to consider the types of chemical reactions that can occur.
In this case, you correctly identified that a single replacement reaction is likely to occur. In a single replacement reaction, one element in a compound is replaced by another element. In the case of methane reacting with chlorine gas, the chlorine atoms replace the hydrogen atoms in methane.
The balanced equation for this reaction can be written as follows:
CH4 (g) + 2Cl2 (g) --> CCl4 (s) + 2H2 (g)
So, the products of the reaction are carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) and hydrogen gas (H2).
To balance the equation, you need to ensure that the number of each type of atom is the same on both sides of the equation. In this case, you have one carbon atom, four hydrogen atoms, and four chlorine atoms on the left side. On the right side, you have one carbon atom, eight hydrogen atoms, and four chlorine atoms. To balance the equation, you need to add coefficients to the molecules involved:
CH4 (g) + 2Cl2 (g) --> CCl4 (s) + 2H2 (g)
Now the equation is balanced, and it shows that one molecule of methane reacts with two molecules of chlorine gas to produce one molecule of carbon tetrachloride and two molecules of hydrogen gas.