Suppose 10 atoms of carbon (C) react with 20 atoms of oxygen (O) to form 10 molecules of carbon dioxide (

1 answer

The reaction you've described is:

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

In this case, each molecule of carbon dioxide (CO₂) is made up of one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms.

From your scenario:

  • You have 10 carbon atoms.
  • You have 20 oxygen atoms available.

To form carbon dioxide (CO₂), each molecule needs 1 carbon atom and 2 oxygen atoms:

  • From 10 carbon atoms, you can form 10 molecules of CO₂.
  • Each of those 10 molecules will require 2 oxygen atoms, so you will need \(10 \times 2 = 20\) oxygen atoms.

Since you indeed have 20 oxygen atoms on hand, the reaction can proceed as follows:

\[ 10 , \text{C} + 20 , \text{O} \rightarrow 10 , \text{CO}_2 \]

Hence, all the carbon and oxygen atoms will react completely to form 10 molecules of carbon dioxide, and there will be no excess reactants left.