Use the chemical reaction to answer the question.

Question

CaCO3 -- CO2 + CaO
A scientist heats 30 grams of calcium carbonate in the chemical reaction shown.
What is the total mass of the products

Answer 1

To find the total mass of the products, we need to determine the molar masses of each compound involved in the reaction.

The molar mass of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) can be calculated by adding up the atomic masses of each element:
Calcium (Ca): 40.08 g/mol
Carbon (C): 12.01 g/mol
Oxygen (O): 16.00 g/mol (x3 atoms)

Therefore, the molar mass of CaCO3 is:
(40.08 g/mol) + (12.01 g/mol) + (16.00 g/mol x 3) = 100.09 g/mol

In the reaction, 1 mole of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) decomposes to form 1 mole of carbon dioxide (CO2) and 1 mole of calcium oxide (CaO). According to the balanced equation, the molar ratio between calcium carbonate and the products is 1:1:1.

Since the molar mass of CaCO3 is 100.09 g/mol, we can calculate the total mass of the products by multiplying the molar mass by the number of moles of reactant used.

The number of moles of CaCO3 can be calculated using the given mass and molar mass:
moles = mass / molar mass
moles = 30 g / 100.09 g/mol ≈ 0.2999 mol

Since the ratio between CaCO3 and the products is 1:1:1, the number of moles of CO2 and CaO will also be approximately 0.2999 mol each.

To find the total mass of the products, we multiply the moles of each product by their respective molar masses:

Mass of CO2 = moles of CO2 x molar mass of CO2
Mass of CO2 = 0.2999 mol x 44.01 g/mol = 13.20 g

Mass of CaO = moles of CaO x molar mass of CaO
Mass of CaO = 0.2999 mol x 56.08 g/mol = 16.80 g

Therefore, the total mass of the products (CO2 + CaO) is approximately 13.20 g + 16.80 g = 30.00 g.

Note: It is important to note that in a real reaction, the mass might not always be conserved due to factors like reactant impurities, side reactions, or product loss. However, in this theoretical calculation, the mass of the products should theoretically equal the mass of the reactant.