6 molecules of hydrogen (H2) react with 3 molecules of oxygen (O2) to produce some amount of water (H2O).

During this reaction, how many molecules of water (H2O) are produced?

1 answer

The balanced chemical equation for the reaction of hydrogen gas with oxygen gas to produce water is:

\[ 2 H_2 + O_2 \rightarrow 2 H_2O \]

From the equation, you can see that 2 molecules of \( H_2 \) react with 1 molecule of \( O_2 \) to produce 2 molecules of \( H_2O \).

Now, if we start with 6 molecules of \( H_2 \) and 3 molecules of \( O_2 \):

  • From the given \( H_2 \), 6 molecules can react as follows: \[ 6 H_2 \times \frac{1 O_2}{2 H_2} = 3 O_2 \] This means you will need 3 molecules of \( O_2 \) to completely react with 6 molecules of \( H_2 \).

Using the ratios from the balanced equation, for every 2 \( H_2 \) molecules that react, 2 \( H_2O \) molecules are produced. Therefore:

\[ 6 H_2 \rightarrow 6 H_2O \]

Thus, the reaction produces 6 molecules of water (H2O) in total.