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?

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work it out
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Explanation:

Step1: Calculate atoms of O

In \(8\) \(SO_2\) molecules: each \(SO_2\) has \(2\) O atoms, so \(8\times2 = 16\) O atoms. In \(4\) \(O_2\) molecules: each \(O_2\) has \(2\) O atoms, so \(4\times2 = 8\) O atoms. Total O atoms: \(16 + 8 = 24\).

Step2: Calculate atoms of S

In \(8\) \(SO_2\) molecules: each \(SO_2\) has \(1\) S atom, so \(8\times1 = 8\) S atoms.

Step3: Determine \(SO_3\) molecules

Each \(SO_3\) has \(1\) S and \(3\) O atoms. From S: \(8\) S atoms mean \(8\) \(SO_3\) molecules (since 1 S per \(SO_3\)). Check O: \(8\) \(SO_3\) has \(8\times3 = 24\) O atoms, which matches total O. So \(8\) \(SO_3\) molecules.

Answer:

• O atoms: \(24\)
• S atoms: \(8\)
• \(SO_3\) molecules: \(8\)