Welcome to Westonci.ca, your go-to destination for finding answers to all your questions. Join our expert community today! Ask your questions and receive accurate answers from professionals with extensive experience in various fields on our platform. Get detailed and accurate answers to your questions from a dedicated community of experts on our Q&A platform.

Octane [tex]\((C_8H_{18})\)[/tex] is found in gasoline. It is burned for fuel in a combustion reaction. The unbalanced combustion reaction for octane is shown below:

[tex]\[ C_8H_{18} + O_2 \rightarrow CO_2 + H_2O + \text{heat} \][/tex]

When the reaction is balanced, how many carbon dioxide molecules are produced for every octane molecule burned?

A. 2
B. 4
C. 8
D. 1


Sagot :

To determine the number of carbon dioxide ([tex]\( \text{CO}_2 \)[/tex]) molecules produced per octane ([tex]\( \text{C}_8\text{H}_{18} \)[/tex]) molecule burned in a combustion reaction, we need to first balance the given reaction:

[tex]\[ \text{C}_8\text{H}_{18} + \text{O}_2 \rightarrow \text{CO}_2 + \text{H}_2\text{O} + \text{heat} \][/tex]

Here are the steps:

1. Balance the Carbon Atoms:
- Octane ([tex]\( \text{C}_8\text{H}_{18} \)[/tex]) has 8 carbon atoms.
- To balance the carbons, each of these carbon atoms will form one molecule of carbon dioxide ([tex]\( \text{CO}_2 \)[/tex]).
- Therefore, we'll need 8 [tex]\(\text{CO}_2 \)[/tex] molecules to balance the carbon atoms on both sides.

The equation becomes:
[tex]\[ \text{C}_8\text{H}_{18} + \text{O}_2 \rightarrow 8\text{CO}_2 + \text{H}_2\text{O} \][/tex]

2. Balance the Hydrogen Atoms:
- Octane has 18 hydrogen atoms ([tex]\( \text{H}_{18} \)[/tex]).
- Water ([tex]\( \text{H}_2\text{O} \)[/tex]) has 2 hydrogen atoms per molecule.
- To balance the 18 hydrogen atoms, we'll need 9 water molecules [tex]\((\text{H}_2\text{O})\)[/tex].

The equation now becomes:
[tex]\[ \text{C}_8\text{H}_{18} + \text{O}_2 \rightarrow 8\text{CO}_2 + 9\text{H}_2\text{O} \][/tex]

3. Balance the Oxygen Atoms:
- On the product side, we have:
- 8 molecules of [tex]\(\text{CO}_2\)[/tex] contribute [tex]\(8 \times 2 = 16\)[/tex] oxygen atoms.
- 9 molecules of [tex]\(\text{H}_2\text{O}\)[/tex] contribute [tex]\(9 \times 1 = 9\)[/tex] oxygen atoms.
- In total, [tex]\(16 + 9 = 25\)[/tex] oxygen atoms are needed.
- Since [tex]\(\text{O}_2\)[/tex] is diatomic (each molecule contains 2 oxygen atoms), we will need [tex]\(\frac{25}{2} = 12.5\)[/tex] molecules of [tex]\(\text{O}_2\)[/tex] to provide the necessary oxygen atoms.

So, the balanced equation is:
[tex]\[ \text{C}_8\text{H}_{18} + 12.5\text{O}_2 \rightarrow 8\text{CO}_2 + 9\text{H}_2\text{O} \][/tex]

Now that the reaction is fully balanced, we can clearly see that for every molecule of octane ([tex]\(\text{C}_8\text{H}_{18}\)[/tex]) burned, 8 molecules of carbon dioxide ([tex]\(\text{CO}_2\)[/tex]) are produced.

Thus, the correct answer is:

C. 8