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Ch.3 - Chemical Reactions and Reaction Stoichiometry
Chapter 3, Problem 2a

The following diagram shows the combination reaction between hydrogen, H2, and carbon monoxide, CO, to produce methanol, CH3OH (white spheres are H, black spheres are C, red spheres are O). The correct number of CO molecules involved in this reaction is not shown. (a) Determine the number of CO molecules that should be shown in the left (reactants) box.

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Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Stoichiometry

Stoichiometry is the branch of chemistry that deals with the quantitative relationships between the reactants and products in a chemical reaction. It allows chemists to calculate the amounts of substances consumed and produced in a reaction based on balanced chemical equations. Understanding stoichiometry is essential for determining how many molecules of each reactant are needed to produce a specific amount of product.
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Balanced Chemical Equation

A balanced chemical equation represents a chemical reaction with equal numbers of each type of atom on both sides of the equation. This balance reflects the law of conservation of mass, which states that matter cannot be created or destroyed in a chemical reaction. For the reaction between hydrogen and carbon monoxide to form methanol, the balanced equation is crucial for identifying the correct stoichiometric coefficients for each reactant and product.
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Mole Concept

The mole concept is a fundamental principle in chemistry that relates the mass of a substance to the number of particles it contains. One mole of any substance contains Avogadro's number (approximately 6.022 x 10^23) of molecules. This concept is vital for converting between grams and moles, allowing chemists to determine how many molecules of carbon monoxide are needed to react with a given amount of hydrogen to produce methanol.
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Related Practice
Textbook Question

When a mixture of 10.0 g of acetylene 1C2H22 and 10.0 g of oxygen 1O22 is ignited, the resulting combustion reaction produces CO2 and H2O. (c) How many grams of C2H2 are present after the reaction is complete?

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Textbook Question

Nitrogen 1N22 and hydrogen 1H22 react to form ammonia 1NH32. Consider the mixture of N2 and H2 shown in the accompanying diagram. The blue spheres represent N, and the white ones represent H. (d) Are any reactant molecules left over, based on the diagram?

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Textbook Question

The reaction between reactant A (blue spheres) and reactant B (red spheres) is shown in the following diagram:

Based on this diagram, which equation best describes the reaction? (a) A2 + B¡A2B (b) A2 + 4 B¡2 AB2 (c) 2 A + B4¡2 AB2 (d) A + B2¡AB2

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Textbook Question

The following diagram shows the combination reaction between hydrogen, H2, and carbon monoxide, CO, to produce methanol, CH3OH (white spheres are H, black spheres are C, red spheres are O). The correct number of CO molecules involved in this reaction is not shown. (b) Write a balanced chemical equation for the reaction.

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Textbook Question

The following diagram represents the collection of elements formed by a decomposition reaction. (a) If the blue spheres represent N atoms and the red ones represent O atoms, what was the empirical formula of the original compound?

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Textbook Question

The following diagram represents the collection of elements formed by a decomposition reaction. (b) Could you draw a diagram representing the molecules of the compound that had been decomposed? Why or why not?

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