Question

acetaldehyde is a substance commonly used in chemical factories. it is often produced by combining ethylene gas and oxygen gas.
consider the following reaction:
2 molecules of ethylene (c₂h₄) react with 1 molecule of oxygen (o₂) to produce some amount of acetaldehyde (c₂h₄o).
to find the amount of acetaldehyde produced, first determine the number of each type of atom in the products.
hint: during a chemical reaction, atoms are not created, destroyed, or changed from one chemical element to another.
chemical element number of atoms in reactants number of atoms in products
h 8
c 4
o 2

Explanation:

Step1: Apply law of conservation of mass

According to the law of conservation of mass, the number of atoms of each element in reactants is equal to the number of atoms of the same - element in products in a chemical reaction.

Answer:

H: 8
C: 4
O: 2