Methanol can be formed by the following UNBALANCED equation below. What is the mass in grams of methanol that can be formed from 101 molecules of CO? H₂(g) + CO(g) → CH₃OH(l).

Answer 1

First, we MUST balance the equation:

2H₂(g) + CO(g) ==> CH₃OH(l) ... balanced equation

Next, we convert 101 molecules of CO to moles of CO using Avogadro's number:

101 molecules CO x 1 mol CO / 6.02x10²³ molecules = 1.68x10^-22 moles of CO

Now we use dimensional analysis to find moles of CH₃OH and the grams of CH₃OH using a molar mass of CH₃OH = 32.0 g/mol:

1.68x10^-22 moles of CO x 1 mol CH₃OH / mol CO x 32.0 g CH₃OH / mol = 5.37x10-21 g CH₃OH