If a plant produces 2.91 mol of C6H12O6, how many moles of CO2 are needed?

Question

The reaction for producing glucose in plants, called photosynthesis,

Answer 1

First, let us examine the balanced chemical equation of photosynthesis:

6H₂O + 6CO₂ + Sunlight ↔ C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂

Here, we see that for every mole of C₆H₁₂O₆ 6 moles of CO₂ will be needed. We use this mole to mole ration to solve for the number of moles of CO₂:

2.91 moles C₆H₁₂O_{6 (} 6 moles CO₂/ 1 mole C₆H₁₂O₆) = 17.46 moles of CO₂.