Which is the balanced equation for S8 + O2 → SO2?

Question

S8 + O16 → 8SO2
S8 + O2 → S8 + O2
S8 + O2 → S8O2
S8 + 8O2 → 8SO2

Answer 1

To balance the equation for the reaction of sulfur (S8) with oxygen (O2) to form sulfur dioxide (SO2), we need to make sure that the number of atoms of each element is the same on both sides of the equation.

Starting with the unbalanced equation:

\[ \text{S}_8 + \text{O}_2 \rightarrow \text{SO}_2 \]

1. There are 8 sulfur atoms in S8, so we need 8 SO2 molecules to balance the sulfur:

\[ \text{S}_8 + \text{O}_2 \rightarrow 8 \text{SO}_2 \]

2. Now, we check the oxygen atoms. Each SO2 molecule has 2 oxygen atoms, so 8 SO2 molecules have \( 8 \times 2 = 16 \) oxygen atoms.

3. For the left side, we need 8 O2 molecules to provide 16 oxygen atoms:

\[ \text{S}_8 + 8 \text{O}_2 \rightarrow 8 \text{SO}_2 \]

The balanced equation is:

\[ \text{S}_8 + 8 \text{O}_2 \rightarrow 8 \text{SO}_2 \]

So the correct answer is:

S8 + 8O2 → 8SO2