What volume of butane (C4H10) is required to produce 42.1 liters of water according to the following reaction?

Question

(All gases are at the same temperature and pressure.)

butane (C₄H₁₀) (g) + oxygen(g)carbon dioxide (g) + water(g)

Answer 1

First thing is you need a correctly balanced equation for this reaction:

2C₄H₁₀ + 13O₂ ==> 8CO₂ + 10H₂O ... balanced equation

Since all are at the same temperature and pressure, the coefficients serve to not only tell us the moles of each, but also tell us the volume (liters) of each. Using dimensional analysis and the stoichiometry of the balanced equation, we can find the volume of C₄H₁₀ needed to produce 42.1 liters of H₂O.

42.1 L H₂O x 2 L C₄H₁₀ / 10 L H₂O = 8.42 L of C₄H₁₀ required