Question

nitrogen dioxide is a gas commonly found in polluted air. it is produced when nitric oxide in the air reacts with oxygen gas. consider the following reaction: 4 molecules of nitric oxide (no) react with 2 molecules of oxygen (o₂) to produce some amount of nitrogen dioxide (no₂). complete the table below. chemical element number of atoms in the reaction n o during this reaction, how many molecules of nitrogen dioxide (no₂) are produced?

Explanation:

For the number of N atoms:

Step1: Analyze NO molecules

Each NO molecule has 1 N atom. There are 4 NO molecules. So, number of N atoms from NO: \( 4\times1 = 4 \).

Step2: Analyze other reactants/products for N

Oxygen (\( O_2 \)) and \( NO_2 \) (product) - oxygen has no N, and we are calculating reactant side N (conservation, so product N will be same). So total N atoms: 4.

For the number of O atoms:

Step1: Analyze NO molecules

Each NO has 1 O atom. 4 NO molecules: \( 4\times1 = 4 \) O atoms.

Step2: Analyze \( O_2 \) molecules

Each \( O_2 \) has 2 O atoms. 2 \( O_2 \) molecules: \( 2\times2 = 4 \) O atoms.

Step3: Total O atoms

Sum of O from NO and \( O_2 \): \( 4 + 4 = 8 \).

For the number of \( NO_2 \) molecules:

Step1: Write the balanced reaction

The reaction is \( 4NO + 2O_2
ightarrow 4NO_2 \) (by balancing: N: 4 on left, so 4 on right; O: 4 (from NO) + 4 (from \( O_2 \)) = 8 on left, so \( NO_2 \) has 2 O per molecule, \( 8\div2 = 4 \) molecules of \( NO_2 \)).

Answer:

s:

• Number of N atoms: \( \boldsymbol{4} \)
• Number of O atoms: \( \boldsymbol{8} \)
• Number of \( NO_2 \) molecules: \( \boldsymbol{4} \)