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: 3 molecules of ethylene (c₂h₄) react with 3 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? blank

Explanation:

For the number of atoms:

Step 1: Calculate H atoms

• Each \( C_2H_4 \) has 4 H atoms, 3 molecules: \( 3\times4 = 12 \)
• Each \( H_2O \) has 2 H atoms, 3 molecules: \( 3\times2 = 6 \)
• Total H: \( 12 + 6 = 18 \)

Step 2: Calculate C atoms

• Each \( C_2H_4 \) has 2 C atoms, 3 molecules: \( 3\times2 = 6 \)

Step 3: Calculate O atoms

• Each \( H_2O \) has 1 O atom, 3 molecules: \( 3\times1 = 3 \)

For the number of ethanol molecules:

Step 1: Analyze C atoms

• Reactants have 6 C atoms (from 3 \( C_2H_4 \)). Each \( C_2H_6O \) has 2 C atoms. Let \( x \) be the number of \( C_2H_6O \) molecules. Then \( 2x = 6 \), so \( x = 3 \). We can verify with O: reactants have 3 O atoms (from 3 \( H_2O \)), each \( C_2H_6O \) has 1 O atom, so \( 3\times1 = 3 \), which matches. With H: reactants have 18 H atoms, each \( C_2H_6O \) has 6 H atoms, \( 3\times6 = 18 \), which also matches.

Answer:

s:

• H atoms: \( \boldsymbol{18} \)
• C atoms: \( \boldsymbol{6} \)
• O atoms: \( \boldsymbol{3} \)
• Ethanol molecules: \( \boldsymbol{3} \)