Question

Nitroglycerine decomposes violently according to the chemical equation below. What mass of carbon dioxide gas is produced from the decomposition of 13.3 g C3H5(NO3)3? 4 C3H5(NO3)3() → 12 CO2(g) + 6 N2(g) +10 H2O(g) + O2(g)

Answer 1

Answer : The mass of $CO_2$  produced is, 7.74 grams

Solution : Given,

Mass of $C_3H_5(NO_3)_3$ = 13.3 g

Molar mass of $C_3H_5(NO_3)_3$ = 227 g/mole

Molar mass of $CO_2$ = 44 g/mole

First we have to calculate the moles of $C_3H_5(NO_3)_3$.

$\text{ Moles of }C_3H_5(NO_3)_3=\frac{\text{ Mass of }C_3H_5(NO_3)_3}{\text{ Molar mass of }C_3H_5(NO_3)_3}=\frac{13.3g}{227g/mole}=0.0586moles$

Now we have to calculate the moles of $CO_2$

The balanced chemical reaction is,

$4C_3H_5(NO_3)_3\rightarrow 12CO_2(g)+6N_2(g)+10H_2O(g)+O_2(g)$

From the reaction, we conclude that

As, 4 mole of $C_3H_5(NO_3)_3$ react to give 12 mole of $CO_2$

So, 0.0586 moles of $C_3H_5(NO_3)_3$ react to give $0.0586\times \frac{12}{4}=0.176$ moles of $CO_2$

Now we have to calculate the mass of $CO_2$

$\text{ Mass of }CO_2=\text{ Moles of }CO_2\times \text{ Molar mass of }CO_2$

$\text{ Mass of }CO_2=(0.176moles)\times (44g/mole)=7.74g$

Thus, the mass of $CO_2$  produced is, 7.74 grams