If 24.1 g of carbon monoxide and 13.8 g of oxygen combine to form carbon dioxide, how many grams of carbon dioxide must form?

Answer 1

The law of conservation of mass tells us that the mass of the products must equal the mass of the reactants. Thus, the mass of products (CO₂) must be 24.1 g + 13.8 g = 37.9 g CO₂ formed

To verify this, use the correctly balanced equation and dimensional analysis:

2CO + O₂ ==> 2CO₂ ... balanced equation

moles CO = 24.1 g x 1 mol CO/28.01 g = 0.860 moles CO

moles O₂ = 13.8 g x 1 mol O₂/32 g = 0.0.431 moles O₂

mass of CO₂ formed = 0.860 mol CO x 2 mol CO₂/2 mol CO x 44 g/mol = 37.9 g CO₂ formed

mass of CO₂ formed = 0.431 mol O₂ x 2 mol CO₂/1 mol O₂ x 44 g/mol = 37.9 g CO₂ formed