hydrogen peroxide can be used to disinfect and clean surfaces around the home. it breaks down over time into…

hydrogen peroxide can be used to disinfect and clean surfaces around the home. it breaks down over time into oxygen gas and water. consider the following reaction: some amount of hydrogen peroxide (h₂o₂) reacts to produce 1 molecule of oxygen (o₂) and 2 molecules of water (h₂o). use the number of atoms in the reaction to answer the question below. chemical element number of atoms in the reaction h 4 o 4 during this reaction, how many molecules of hydrogen peroxide (h₂o₂) react?
Answer
Explanation:
Step1: Analyze hydrogen - peroxide formula
The formula of hydrogen peroxide is $H_2O_2$, which means 1 molecule of $H_2O_2$ has 2 hydrogen (H) atoms and 2 oxygen (O) atoms.
Step2: Count total H and O atoms in products
In the products, we have 1 molecule of $O_2$ (2 O atoms) and 2 molecules of $H_2O$ (4 H atoms and 2 O atoms). So in total, there are 4 H atoms and 4 O atoms in the products.
Step3: Determine number of $H_2O_2$ molecules
Since 1 molecule of $H_2O_2$ has 2 H and 2 O atoms, to get 4 H and 4 O atoms in the products, the number of $H_2O_2$ molecules reacting is 2. Because $2\times2 = 4$ for both H and O atoms from $2H_2O_2$.
Answer:
2