Question

ethanol is a chemical that is used in many hand sanitizers. it is produced when steam reacts with the chemical ethylene. consider the following reaction: 6 molecules of ethylene (c₂h₄) react with 6 molecules of water (h₂o) to produce some amount of ethanol (c₂h₆o). complete the table below. chemical element | number of atoms in the reaction h | blank c | blank o | blank during this reaction, how many molecules of ethanol (c₂h₆o) are produced?

Explanation:

Part 1: Completing the table (Number of atoms in the reaction)

For Hydrogen (H):

Step1: Calculate H from ethylene

Each ethylene molecule ($\ce{C2H4}$) has 4 H atoms. For 6 molecules: $6 \times 4 = 24$ H atoms.

Step2: Calculate H from water

Each water molecule ($\ce{H2O}$) has 2 H atoms. For 6 molecules: $6 \times 2 = 12$ H atoms.

Step3: Total H atoms

Sum the H atoms from both reactants: $24 + 12 = 36$ H atoms.

For Carbon (C):

Step1: Calculate C from ethylene

Each ethylene molecule ($\ce{C2H4}$) has 2 C atoms. For 6 molecules: $6 \times 2 = 12$ C atoms.

For Oxygen (O):

Step1: Calculate O from water

Each water molecule ($\ce{H2O}$) has 1 O atom. For 6 molecules: $6 \times 1 = 6$ O atoms.

Part 2: Number of ethanol molecules produced

Step1: Determine the balanced reaction

The reaction is: $6\ce{C2H4} + 6\ce{H2O}
ightarrow?\ce{C2H6O}$
From the reactants, we have 12 C atoms, 36 H atoms, and 6 O atoms.
Each ethanol molecule ($\ce{C2H6O}$) has 2 C, 6 H, and 1 O.

Step2: Calculate moles of ethanol from C

Number of ethanol molecules from C: $\frac{12}{2} = 6$
(Check with H: $\frac{36}{6} = 6$; Check with O: $\frac{6}{1} = 6$)

Final Table and Ethanol Molecules

Table:

Chemical element	Number of atoms in the reaction
C	12
O	6

Ethanol molecules: 6

Answer:

s:

• H atoms: $\boldsymbol{36}$
• C atoms: $\boldsymbol{12}$
• O atoms: $\boldsymbol{6}$
• Ethanol molecules: $\boldsymbol{6}$