Write and balance the reaction for the complete combustion of methanol, CH3OH. (Type your answer using the format CO2 for CO2. Use the lowest possible coefficients.)
1CH3OH + 2 3 �¨ 4 5 + 6H2O
The subject is chemistry, not physics.
The other reactant will be O2 and the products will be CO2 and H2O.
To write and balance the reaction for the complete combustion of methanol (CH3OH), we need to ensure that the number of atoms of each element is the same on both sides of the equation.
The complete combustion of methanol (CH3OH) can be represented as follows:
2CH3OH + 3O2 -> 2CO2 + 4H2O
In this balanced equation, we have:
- 2 moles of methanol (CH3OH) reacting with
- 3 moles of oxygen (O2) to produce:
- 2 moles of carbon dioxide (CO2) and
- 4 moles of water (H2O)
By balancing the equation, we ensure that there is an equal number of atoms of each element on both sides. In this case, we have:
- 6 carbon atoms on both sides
- 12 hydrogen atoms on both sides
- 8 oxygen atoms on both sides
The lowest possible coefficients are used to maintain the correct ratio of reactants and products.