Question

in the atmosphere, nitric oxide forms when a lightning strike causes nitrogen gas to react with oxygen gas. consider the following reaction: 1 molecule of nitrogen (n₂) reacts with 1 molecule of oxygen (o₂) to produce some amount of nitric oxide (no). to find the amount of nitric oxide 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. chart: chemical element (n, o), number of atoms in reactants (2, 2), number of atoms in products (blanks)

Explanation:

Step1: Apply the law of conservation of mass

The law of conservation of mass states that in a chemical reaction, the number of atoms of each element in the reactants must equal the number of atoms of each element in the products.

For nitrogen (N): In the reactants, we have 1 molecule of \( \text{N}_2 \), so the number of N atoms is \( 2 \) (since each \( \text{N}_2 \) molecule has 2 N atoms). By the law of conservation of mass, the number of N atoms in the products must also be \( 2 \).

For oxygen (O): In the reactants, we have 1 molecule of \( \text{O}_2 \), so the number of O atoms is \( 2 \) (since each \( \text{O}_2 \) molecule has 2 O atoms). By the law of conservation of mass, the number of O atoms in the products must also be \( 2 \).

Answer:

For N: \( 2 \)
For O: \( 2 \)