Thank you for the informative answer yesterday. I hope you can help me with this one too. Thanks

S(subscript 8) + O( subscript 2) -> SO3

Could you explain why it O3 when S valence is -2? Thanks

Yes. S is +6 in SO3. Each O is -2; 3*-2 = -6 so for SO3 to be neutral (as all compounds are) S must be +6. That's part of the problem, I suppose, and S DOES have -2 in H2S and the sulfides (such as Na2S, K2S, BaS, etc) but S may have valences of -2, 0, +4 and +6 and those are quite common. SO2 is an example of +4. Hope this helps.

So since it S3O6, it was reduce to SO3?

Yes, SO3 is the empirical formula.

Yes, SO3 is the empirical formula. It may be the molecular formula, also.

When you write the formula in word equation would it be : Octasilicon and oxygen reacted to produce sulfur trioxide?

Would this be the balance equation?

S8 + 12O2 -> 8SO3

Sure! In the given chemical equation, the element S (sulfur) combines with the element O (oxygen) to form the compound SO3 (sulfur trioxide). To determine the number of atoms for each element in the compound, we need to understand the valence or oxidation states of the elements involved.

Sulfur (S) typically has a valence of -2 when it forms compounds. Oxygen (O) usually has a valence of -2 as well, except in certain cases. However, in this specific chemical equation, the valence of oxygen is different.

To balance the equation and determine the correct valence for each element, we start by assigning oxidation states based on their known values and then adjust them as necessary.

Since we have one sulfur atom and three oxygen atoms in SO3, the total valence of sulfur and oxygen combined must equal zero. Since sulfur typically has a valence of -2, it must account for a total of -2*1 = -2.

To find the valence of oxygen, we rearrange the equation:

S + O2 → SO3

We already know that sulfur has a total valence of -2. Considering that there are three oxygen atoms, and we want the total valence to equal zero, we can set up an equation:

-2 + 3x = 0

Here, x represents the valence of each oxygen atom. Solving the equation gives x = +2.

So, in the compound SO3, sulfur has a valence of +6, and each oxygen atom has a valence of -2. This means that the overall compound contains one sulfur atom with a valence of +6 and three oxygen atoms, each with a valence of -2, resulting in the formula SO3.