ethanol is a chemical that is used in many hand sanitizers. it is produced when steam reacts with the…
ethanol is a chemical that is used in many hand sanitizers. it is produced when steam reacts with the chemical ethylene. consider the following reaction: 3 molecules of ethylene (c₂h₄) react with 3 molecules of water (h₂o) to produce some amount of ethanol (c₂h₆o). complete the table below. chemical element number of atoms in the reaction h c o during this reaction, how many molecules of ethanol (c₂h₆o) are produced?
Answer
Explanation:
Step1: Calculate number of H atoms
Each $C_2H_4$ has 4 H - atoms and each $H_2O$ has 2 H - atoms. There are 3 $C_2H_4$ and 3 $H_2O$. So the number of H atoms is $3\times4 + 3\times2=12 + 6 = 18$.
Step2: Calculate number of C atoms
Each $C_2H_4$ has 2 C - atoms. There are 3 $C_2H_4$, so the number of C atoms is $3\times2=6$.
Step3: Calculate number of O atoms
Each $H_2O$ has 1 O - atom. There are 3 $H_2O$, so the number of O atoms is $3\times1 = 3$.
Step4: Determine number of ethanol molecules
The balanced chemical equation for the reaction of ethylene ($C_2H_4$) and water ($H_2O$) to form ethanol ($C_2H_6O$) is $C_2H_4+H_2O\rightarrow C_2H_6O$. Since we have 3 molecules of $C_2H_4$ and 3 molecules of $H_2O$, and the ratio of $C_2H_4$ to $H_2O$ to $C_2H_6O$ is 1:1:1 in the reaction, 3 molecules of ethanol are produced.
Answer:
| Chemical element | Number of atoms in the reaction |
|---|---|
| H | 18 |
| C | 6 |
| O | 3 |
| Number of ethanol molecules: 3 |