Answer:
0.59 mol O₂
Explanation:
The balanced chemical equation for the decomposition of potassium chlorate (KClO₃) to produce potassium chloride (KCl) and oxygen gas (O₂) is the following:
2 KClO₃ → 2 KCl + 3 O₂
According to the equation, 3 moles of O₂ are produced from 2 moles of KClO ⇒ conversion factor: 3 mol O₂/2 mol KClO₃
Now, we calculate the number of moles of KClO₃ there is in 48.1 g, by dividing the mass into the molecular weight (Mw) of O₂:
Mw(KClO₃) = 39.1 g/mol + 35.4 g/mol + (16 g/mol x 3) = 122.5 g/mol
moles KClO₃ = mass KClO₃/Mw(KClO₃) = 48.1 g/(122.5 g/mol) = 0.3926 mol KClO₃
Finally, we multiply the moles of KClO₃ by the conversion factor to calculate the moles of O₂ produced:
0.3926 mol KClO₃ x 3 mol O₂/2 mol KClO₃ = 0.59 mol O₂
