The question is: Hydrogen and oxygen gas combine explosively to produce water. Write a balanced chemical equation for this process. If 10 mol of hydrogen reacted with oxygen, what volume of liquid water could be produced?

Question

Is this right for the balanced equation? 4H + O₂ → 2H₂O

Does the mole stay the same? Does 10 mol of hydrogen that has reacted with oxygen remain as 10 mol?

How do I go about working out the volume of water now?

Thank you.

Answer 1

H occurs as a diatomic molecule (as does oxygen) so the equation should be
2H2 + O2 ==> 2H2O

(10 moles H2 will produce 10 moles H2O --ONLY IF there is sufficient oxygen present and that will be 5 moles oxygen needed for 10 moles H2). 1 mole H2O has a molar mass of 18 grams; therefore, 10 moles will have a mass of 180 grams. If the density of water is 1.00 g/mL, that will be 180 mL water. Check my thinking.