Question

How many grams of carbon dioxide are formed if 0.164 moles of ethanol (CH₃CH₂OH) react with 80 grams of oxygen according to the following balanced equation:

CH₃CH₂OH (l) + 3 O₂ (g) → 2 CO₂ (g) + 3 H₂O (l)

Answer 1

Number of moles of oxygen = 80 g / 32.0 g.mol^-1 = 2.5 mole

from the balanced equation we can say that

1 mole of ethanol requires 3 mole of O2 so

0.164 mole of ethanol will require 0.492 mole of O2

but we have 2.5 mole of O2 so ethanol is limiting reactant

from the balanced equation we can say that

1 mole of ethanol produces 2 mole of CO2 so

0.164 mole of ethanol will produce 0.328 mole of CO2

1 mole of CO2 = 44.0 g

so 0.328 mole of CO2 = 14.4 g

Therefore, the mass of CO2 produced will be 14.4 g