Question

sulfur dioxide is a gas released when volcanoes erupt. it can react with oxygen gas to form sulfur trioxide, a chemical that can harm living things. consider the following reaction: 8 molecules of sulfur dioxide (so₂) react with 4 molecules of oxygen (o₂) to produce some amount of sulfur trioxide (so₃). complete the table below. chemical element | number of atoms in the reaction o | s | during this reaction, how many molecules of sulfur trioxide (so₃) are produced?

Explanation:

Step1: Calculate number of oxygen atoms

In 8 molecules of $SO_2$, the number of oxygen atoms is $8\times2 = 16$. In 4 molecules of $O_2$, the number of oxygen atoms is $4\times2=8$. So the total number of oxygen atoms is $16 + 8=24$.

Step2: Calculate number of sulfur atoms

In 8 molecules of $SO_2$, the number of sulfur atoms is $8\times1 = 8$.

Step3: Determine number of $SO_3$ molecules

The chemical - equation for the reaction is $2SO_2+O_2
ightarrow2SO_3$. The ratio of $SO_2$ to $O_2$ to $SO_3$ is $2:1:2$. Given 8 molecules of $SO_2$ and 4 molecules of $O_2$, based on the ratio, 8 molecules of $SO_3$ are produced.

Answer:

Chemical element	Number of atoms in the reaction
S	8

8