Chapter 11, Problem 11.37PAE

Interpretation Introduction

Interpretation: Understand the concept of rate of the reaction in the process of wood burning in oxygen and explain how the surface area affects the burning of the wood in oxygen.

Concept Introduction: The concepts involved in this problem are:

(i) Rate of reaction - It is the change in concentration with respect to another reactant. It is defined as the ratio of differences in both the entities.

(ii) Burning of wood in air: Wood is a compound material made up of hydrocarbons. So when it is burned, the hydrocarbons which are present in it will combine to form carbon oxides and water along with other oxides. This shows the chemical reaction that takes place between hydrocarbons and oxygen when the wood is burned.

Assuming the hydrocarbon that is present in the wood is $C_n{H}_{2n+2}$, the reaction of burning can be written as follows:

$C_n{H}_{2n+2}(s)+O_2(g)\to C{O}_2(g)+CO(g)+H_{2}O(g)$

The rate of burning is dependent on the above reaction.