Propane is a hydrocarbon that fuels everything from gas grills to home furnaces. Below is the balanced chemical equation for the combustion of propane (C3H8):
C3H8 (g) + 5O2 (g) → 3CO2 (g) + 4H2O
For each molecule of propane burned, there needs to be five molecules of oxygen present. Therefore, if there were a dozen molecules of propane, there would need to be 5 dozen molecules of oxygen. Similarly, for each mole of propane, five moles of oxygen are needed. Subsequently, each mole of propane burned produces three moles of carbon dioxide and 4 moles of water. The number of moles of each substance in a chemical equation are related by the ratio of the coefficients of each substance, which we refer to as the molar ratio.
- If you have 410 grams of propane and want to know how many grams of oxygen are required to burn it, you can follow these steps…
- Find the number of moles of propane that you have, then convert grams to moles!
- The moles of propane are related to the moles of oxygen by the molar ratio (ratio of coefficients in the balanced chemical equation). Find the number of moles of oxygen you need to give the moles of propane from part 5a.
- Find the grams of oxygen from the moles of oxygen. Convert the moles of oxygen (answer to part 5b) to grams of oxygen (O2)! Hint: use the molar mass for O2, not just O. You should get approximately 1490 g of oxygen.
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