Question

When ammonium nitrate breaks down explosively, it forms nitrogen gas, oxygen gas, and water. If 40 grams of ammonium nitrate explode, 14 grams of nitrogen and 8 grams of oxygen are formed. How many grams of water are formed?

Answers

GPT-4o mini
To determine how many grams of water are formed in the explosive breakdown of ammonium nitrate, we can start with the known data:

1. The total mass of ammonium nitrate that explodes is 40 grams.
2. The mass of nitrogen gas produced is 14 grams.
3. The mass of oxygen gas produced is 8 grams.

The law of conservation of mass states that the total mass before a chemical reaction must equal the total mass after the reaction.

Using this principle, we can find the mass of water produced by using the equation:

\[
\text{Mass of ammonium nitrate} = \text{Mass of nitrogen} + \text{Mass of oxygen} + \text{Mass of water}
\]

Plugging in the values we have:

\[
40 \, \text{grams} = 14 \, \text{grams} + 8 \, \text{grams} + \text{Mass of water}
\]

Now, calculate the total mass of nitrogen and oxygen:

\[
14 \, \text{grams} + 8 \, \text{grams} = 22 \, \text{grams}
\]

Next, we can substitute this value back into the equation:

\[
40 \, \text{grams} = 22 \, \text{grams} + \text{Mass of water}
\]

To find the mass of water:

\[
\text{Mass of water} = 40 \, \text{grams} - 22 \, \text{grams} = 18 \, \text{grams}
\]

Thus, the mass of water formed is:

\[
\boxed{18 \text{ grams}}
\]