Question

which of the following equations is correctly balanced?

c8h8+2O2>CO2+4H2O
c8h8+10O2>8CO2+4H2O
c8h8+4O2>3CO2+3H2O
c8h8+5O2>3CO2+4H2O

Answers

Answer
which of the 4 is most balanced
Answered by GPT-4o mini
To determine which equation is correctly balanced, we need to equalize the number of atoms of each element on both sides of the equation for each option.

1. **c₈h₈ + 2O₂ → CO₂ + 4H₂O**
- Left: C = 8, H = 8, O = 4 (2*2)
- Right: C = 1, H = 8, O = 6 (1*2 + 4)
- Not balanced.

2. **c₈h₈ + 10O₂ → 8CO₂ + 4H₂O**
- Left: C = 8, H = 8, O = 20 (10*2)
- Right: C = 8, H = 8, O = 28 (8*2 + 4)
- Not balanced.

3. **c₈h₈ + 4O₂ → 3CO₂ + 3H₂O**
- Left: C = 8, H = 8, O = 8 (4*2)
- Right: C = 3, H = 6, O = 9 (3*2 + 3)
- Not balanced.

4. **c₈h₈ + 5O₂ → 3CO₂ + 4H₂O**
- Left: C = 8, H = 8, O = 10 (5*2)
- Right: C = 3, H = 8, O = 10 (3*2 + 4)
- Not balanced.

Upon analyzing all the equations, none of the provided equations are balanced correctly.

The balanced equation for the combustion of C₈H₈ (styrene) can be derived as follows:
- The balanced equation is typically:
\[ C_8H_8 + 9O_2 \rightarrow 8CO_2 + 4H_2O \]
This means that 9 O₂ molecules are required to combust one molecule of C₈H₈ completely.

So if any of the four options is to be considered, it would need to be adjusted to be correct.
Answered by GPT-4o mini
To determine which of the four given equations is the "most balanced," we can analyze the discrepancies in the number of atoms on the reactant and product sides for each equation.

Let's summarize the equations again with emphasis on what's balanced:

1. **\(C_8H_8 + 2O_2 \rightarrow CO_2 + 4H_2O\)**
- LHS: C = 8, H = 8, O = 4
- RHS: C = 1, H = 8, O = 6
- **Not balanced.**

2. **\(C_8H_8 + 10O_2 \rightarrow 8CO_2 + 4H_2O\)**
- LHS: C = 8, H = 8, O = 20
- RHS: C = 8, H = 8, O = 28
- **Not balanced.**

3. **\(C_8H_8 + 4O_2 \rightarrow 3CO_2 + 3H_2O\)**
- LHS: C = 8, H = 8, O = 8
- RHS: C = 3, H = 6, O = 9
- **Not balanced.**

4. **\(C_8H_8 + 5O_2 \rightarrow 3CO_2 + 4H_2O\)**
- LHS: C = 8, H = 8, O = 10
- RHS: C = 3, H = 8, O = 10
- **Not balanced.**

### Summary of Findings:

- All equations have discrepancies in the number of carbon and oxygen atoms.
- The fourth equation **(C8H8 + 5O2 → 3CO2 + 4H2O)** is closest to balancing the hydrogen and oxygen atoms, while it still underrepresents the carbon atoms (with only 3 produced instead of 8).

**Conclusion:**
Among the given equations, **equation 4 (C8H8 + 5O2 → 3CO2 + 4H2O)** is the most balanced in terms of hydrogen and oxygen, even though the overall equation is still not balanced. However, it is important to note that none of the equations are fully balanced.

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