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) breaks down to produce 6 molecules of oxygen (o₂) and 12 molecules of water (h₂o). complete the table below. chemical element number of atoms in the reaction h o during this reaction, how many molecules of hydrogen peroxide (h₂o₂) react?
Answer
Explanation:
Step1: Calculate number of H - atoms
Each water molecule ($H_2O$) has 2 H - atoms. There are 12 water molecules. So the number of H - atoms from water is $2\times12 = 24$. Since hydrogen peroxide is the only other source of hydrogen in the reaction and there is no hydrogen in oxygen gas ($O_2$), the total number of H - atoms in the reaction is 24.
Step2: Calculate number of O - atoms
Each water molecule ($H_2O$) has 1 O - atom and there are 12 water molecules, so there are $1\times12=12$ O - atoms from water. Each oxygen molecule ($O_2$) has 2 O - atoms and there are 6 oxygen molecules, so there are $2\times6 = 12$ O - atoms from oxygen gas. The total number of O - atoms is $12 + 12=24$.
Step3: Determine number of hydrogen - peroxide molecules
Each hydrogen - peroxide molecule ($H_2O_2$) has 2 H - atoms and 2 O - atoms. Since there are 24 H - atoms, the number of hydrogen - peroxide molecules is $\frac{24}{2}=12$. Also, checking with O - atoms, with 24 O - atoms, the number of hydrogen - peroxide molecules is $\frac{24}{2}=12$.
Answer:
| Chemical element | Number of atoms in the reaction |
|---|---|
| H | 24 |
| O | 24 |
| 12 |