Question

__ ch3ch2cooh(l) + __ o2(g)  __ co2(g) + __ h2o(l) how many moles of o2 are required to oxidize 1 mole of ch3ch2cooh according to the reaction represented above?

Answer 1

The given chemical equation represents the combustion reaction of propanoic acid:

On balancing we get,

$2CH_{3}CH_{2}COOH (l)+ 7O_{2}(g)--->6CO_{2}(g) + 6H_{2}O(g)$

The above balanced chemical equation tells us that, 2 mol $CH_{3}CH_{2}COOH$ require 7 mol $O_{2}$ for complete combustion to produce $6 mol H_{2}O$ and $6 mol CO_{2}$

Given moles of $CH_{3}CH_{2}COOH$ = 1 mol

Calculating moles of $O_{2}$ required for combustion:

$1 mol CH_{3}CH_{2}COOH * \frac{7 mol O_{2} }{2 mol CH_{3}CH_{2}COOH } =3.5 mol O_{2}$

Therefore, 3.5 mol Oxygen is required for complete combustion of 1 mol propanoic acid.