Question

1CH4 + 2O2 = 1CO2 + 2H2O
products: 0CO2, 0H2O
leftovers: 1CH4, 1O2
what is the number of reactants?

Answer 1

In the given chemical reaction:

\[ 1\text{CH}_4 + 2\text{O}_2 \rightarrow 1\text{CO}_2 + 2\text{H}_2\text{O} \]

you have the following reactants:

- 1 molecule of CH₄ (methane)
- 2 molecules of O₂ (oxygen)

Now, according to the information you provided where there are leftover reactants:

- 1 CH₄ and 1 O₂ remain unreacted.

This means that you initially started with:

- 1 CH₄ (which is fully accounted for) and 2 O₂.

Considering you have 1 CH₄ and 2 O₂ from the start, which corresponds with the ratios in the balanced equation, the total number of reactant molecules you started with is:

1 (from CH₄) + 2 (from O₂) = 3 reactant molecules.

So the number of reactants is 3.