If 12 g of carbon react with an excess of oxygen to produce carbon dioxide, what is the mass of carbon dioxide form

1 answer

To find the mass of carbon dioxide produced from the reaction of 12 g of carbon with excess oxygen, we can use stoichiometry based on the chemical reaction involved. The combustion of carbon (C) in oxygen (O₂) produces carbon dioxide (CO₂) according to the balanced equation:

\[ \text{C} + \text{O}_2 \rightarrow \text{CO}_2 \]

From the balanced equation, we can see that 1 mole of carbon produces 1 mole of carbon dioxide.

  1. Calculate the moles of carbon: The molar mass of carbon (C) is approximately 12.01 g/mol. To find the number of moles of carbon in 12 g, we use the formula:

    \[ \text{moles of C} = \frac{\text{mass of C}}{\text{molar mass of C}} = \frac{12 \text{ g}}{12.01 \text{ g/mol}} \approx 1 \text{ mol} \]

  2. Determine the moles of carbon dioxide produced: Since 1 mole of carbon produces 1 mole of carbon dioxide, we can conclude that 1 mole of carbon will produce 1 mole of CO₂.

  3. Calculate the mass of carbon dioxide: The molar mass of carbon dioxide (CO₂) is calculated as follows:

    • Molar mass of C = 12.01 g/mol
    • Molar mass of O = 16.00 g/mol

    Therefore, the molar mass of CO₂ is:

    \[ \text{Molar mass of CO}_2 = 12.01 \text{ g/mol} + 2 \times 16.00 \text{ g/mol} = 12.01 \text{ g/mol} + 32.00 \text{ g/mol} = 44.01 \text{ g/mol} \]

    Now, calculating the mass of CO₂ produced:

    \[ \text{mass of CO}_2 = \text{moles of CO}_2 \times \text{molar mass of CO}_2 = 1 \text{ mol} \times 44.01 \text{ g/mol} = 44.01 \text{ g} \]

Thus, the mass of carbon dioxide produced from the reaction of 12 g of carbon with excess oxygen is approximately 44.01 grams.