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Combustion of hydrocarbons such as methane (CH_4) produces carbon dioxide, a \"g

ID: 1063372 • Letter: C

Question

Combustion of hydrocarbons such as methane (CH_4) produces carbon dioxide, a "greenhouse gas." Greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere can trap the Sun's heat, raising the average temperature of the Earth. For this reason there has been a great deal of international discussion about whether to regulate the production of carbon dioxide. Write a balanced chemical equation, including physical state symbols, for the combustion of gaseous methane into gaseous carbon dioxide and gaseous water CH_4 (g) + 2O_2 (g) rightarrow CO_2 (g) + 2H_2O(g) Suppose 0.300 kg of methane are burned in air at a pressure of exactly 1 atm and a temperature of 15.0 degree C Calculate the volume of carbon dioxide gas that is produced. Round your answer to 3 significant digits.

Explanation / Answer

1. Balanced chemical equation for combustion of methane

CH4(g) + 2O2(g) --> CO2(g) + 2H2O(g)

2. moles of CH4 combusted = 0.300 kg x 1000/16 g/mol = 18.75 moles

1 mole CH4 gives 1 mole CO2

moles of CO2 generated (n) = 18.75 moles

Pressure (P) = 1 atm

Temperature (T) = 15 oC + 273 = 288 K

R = gas constant

Volume (V) of CO2 generated = ?

Using,

V = nRT/P

   = 18.75 x 0.08205 x 288/1 = 443.07 L of CO2 generated