Use the chemical equation to answer the question.

Question

2Na + Cl₂ → ?NaCl

In the reaction, sodium and chlorine combine to produce sodium chloride. In an instance when eight sodium chloride molecules are produced, how many diatomic chlorine molecules went into the reaction?

a) 2
b) 4
c) 8
d) 1

Answer 1

The balanced chemical equation for the reaction is:

2Na + Cl₂ → 2NaCl

From the equation, we can see that 1 mole of chlorine gas (Cl₂) reacts with 2 moles of sodium (2Na) to produce 2 moles of sodium chloride (2NaCl).

If 8 moles of sodium chloride are produced, then we can find the amount of chlorine gas used as follows:

2NaCl = 1 mole of Cl₂ (from the balanced equation)

8 moles of NaCl = 8/2 = 4 moles of Cl₂

Therefore, the answer is (b) 4 diatomic chlorine molecules went into the reaction.