Methanol can be used to prevent certain liquids from freezing in cold weather. Methanol is produced when carbon monoxide and hydrogen gas react.

Consider the following reaction:
4 molecules of carbon monoxide (CO) react with 8 molecules of hydrogen (H2) to produce some amount of methanol (CH4O).
Complete the table below.
Chemical element Number of atoms in the reaction
H
C
O
During this reaction, how many molecules of methanol (CH4O) are produced?

1 answer

To analyze the given reaction, we start from the balanced chemical equation for the synthesis of methanol (CH₃OH) from carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H₂). The equation can be represented as:

\[ 2 , \text{CO} + 4 , \text{H}_2 \rightarrow 2 , \text{CH}_3\text{OH} \]

Based on the information provided:

  • 4 molecules of CO react with 8 molecules of H₂ to produce methanol.

Number of atoms in the reaction:

  • Hydrogen (H):

    • Each H₂ molecule contains 2 hydrogen atoms.
    • 4 H₂ molecules have \( 4 \times 2 = 8 \) hydrogen atoms.
  • Carbon (C):

    • Each CO molecule contains 1 carbon atom.
    • 4 CO molecules have \( 4 \times 1 = 4 \) carbon atoms.
  • Oxygen (O):

    • Each CO molecule contains 1 oxygen atom. In this case, we will focus on methanol, which contains 1 oxygen atom as well.
    • Yes, if we follow the format of producing methanol, there are still 2 oxygen atoms involved in forming 2 CH₃OH from 2 CO.

Summary Table:

| Chemical element | Number of atoms in the reaction | |------------------|---------------------------------| | H | 8 | | C | 4 | | O | 2 |

Molecules of Methanol Produced:

From the balanced equation, for every 2 molecules of CO and 4 molecules of H₂, we produce 2 molecules of methanol (CH₃OH).

In this case, since we start with 4 molecules of CO, we will produce:

\[ \text{2 CH}_3\text{OH} \text{ per } 2 \text{ CO} \Rightarrow \text{4 CO gives } 4 \text{ CH}_3\text{OH} \]

Thus, 2 molecules of methanol (CH₃OH) are produced from the reaction of 4 CO and 8 H₂.

Therefore, the answer is 2 molecules of methanol (CH₃OH).