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:
1 molecule of ethylene (c₂h₄) reacts with 1 molecule of water (h₂o) to produce some amount of ethanol (c₂h₆o).
use the number of atoms in the reaction to answer the question below.
chemical element | number of atoms in the reaction
h | 6
c | 2
o | 1
during this reaction, how many molecules of ethanol (c₂h₆o) are produced?

Explanation:

Step1: Write the chemical - reaction equation

The reaction is \(C_2H_4 + H_2O
ightarrow C_2H_6O\).

Step2: Check atom - conservation

In the reactants, we have 2 carbon atoms (\(C\)), 6 hydrogen atoms (\(H\)), and 1 oxygen atom (\(O\)). In the product ethanol (\(C_2H_6O\)), it also has 2 carbon atoms, 6 hydrogen atoms, and 1 oxygen atom. According to the law of conservation of mass (number of atoms of each element is the same on both sides of the chemical equation), 1 molecule of ethylene and 1 molecule of water produce 1 molecule of ethanol.

Answer:

1