Question

Calcium Carbonate reacts with dilute hydrochloric acid. The equation for the reaction is shown. CaCo3 + 2Hcl = Cacl2 + H2O + Co2 1 g of calcium Carbonate is added to 50cm3 of 0.05mol/dm3 hydrochloric acid. Which volume of carbon dioxide is made in this reaction?

Answer 1

Answer:

Approximately $0.224\;\rm L$, assuming that this reaction took place under standard temperature and pressure, and that $\rm CO_2$ behaves like an ideal gas. Also assume that the reaction went to completion.

Explanation:

The first step is to find out: which species is the limiting reactant?

Assume that $\rm CaCO_3$ is the limiting reactant. How many moles of $\rm CO_2$ would be produced?

Look up the relative atomic mass of $\rm Ca$, $\rm C$, and $\rm O$ on a modern periodic table:

• $\rm Ca$: $40.078$.
• $\rm C$: $12.011$.
• $\rm O$: $15.999$.

Calculate the formula mass of $\rm CaCO_3$:

$\begin{aligned} & M(\rm CaCO_3) \\ &= 40.078 + 12.011 + 3 \times 15.999 \\&= 100.086\; \rm g \cdot mol^{-1}\end{aligned}$.

Calculate the number of moles of formula units in $1\; \rm g$ of $\rm CaCO_3$ using its formula mass:

$\begin{aligned}& n(\mathrm{CaCO_3})\\&= \frac{m(\mathrm{CaCO_3})}{M(\mathrm{CaCO_3})} \\ &= \frac{1\; \rm g}{100.086\; \rm g \cdot mol^{-1}} \approx 1.00\times 10^{-2}\; \rm mol\end{aligned}$.

In the balanced chemical equation, the ratio between the coefficient of $\rm CaCO_3$ and that of $\rm CO_2$ is $\displaystyle \frac{n(\mathrm{CO_2})}{n(\mathrm{CaCO_3})} = 1$.

In other words, for each mole of $\rm CaCO_3$ formula units consumed, one mole of $\rm CO_2$ would be produced.

If $\rm CaCO_3$ is indeed the limiting reactant, all that approximately $1.00\times 10^{-2}\; \rm mol$ of $\rm CaCO_3\!$ formula would be consumed. That would produce approximately $1.00\times 10^{-2}\; \rm mol\!$ of $\rm CO_2$.

On the other hand, assume that $\rm HCl$ is the limiting reactant.

Convert the volume of $\rm HCl$ to $\rm dm^{3}$ (so as to match the unit of concentration.)

$\begin{aligned}&V(\mathrm{HCl})\\ &= 50\; \rm cm^{3} \\ &= 50\; \rm cm^{3} \times \frac{1\; \rm dm^{3}}{10^{3}\; \rm cm^{3}} \\ &= 5.00\times 10^{-2}\; \rm dm^{3} \end{aligned}$.

Calculate the number of moles of $\rm HCl$ molecules in that $5.00\times 10^{-2}\; \rm dm^{3}$ of this $\rm 0.05\; \rm mol \cdot dm^{-3}$

$\begin{aligned}& n(\mathrm{HCl}) \\ &= c(\mathrm{HCl}) \cdot V(\mathrm{HCl}) \\ &= 0.05\; \rm mol \cdot dm^{-3}\\ &\quad\quad \times 5.00\times 10^{-2}\;\rm dm^{3} \\ &= 2.50 \times 10^{-3}\; \rm mol\end{aligned}$.

Notice that in the balanced chemical reaction, the ratio between the coefficient of $\rm HCl$ and that of $\rm CO_2$ is $\displaystyle \frac{n(\mathrm{CO_2})}{n(\mathrm{HCl})} = \frac{1}{2}$.

In other words, each mole of $\rm HCl$ molecules consumed would produce only $0.5\;\rm mol$ of $\rm CO_2$ molecules.

Therefore, if $\rm HCl$ is the limiting reactant, that $2.50 \times 10^{-3}\; \rm mol$ of $\rm HCl\!$ molecules would produce only one-half as many (that is, $1.25\times 10^{-3}\; \rm mol$) of $\rm CO_2$ molecules.

If $\rm CaCO_3$ is the limiting reactant, $\rm 1.00\times 10^{-3}\; \rm mol$ of $\rm CO_2$ molecules would be produced. However, if $\rm HCl$ is the limiting reactant, $1.25\times 10^{-3}\; \rm mol$ of $\rm CO_2\!$ molecules would be produced.

In reality, no more than $\rm 1.00\times 10^{-3}\; \rm mol$ of $\rm CO_2$ molecules would be produced. The reason is that all $\rm CaCO_3$ would have been consumed before $\rm HCl$ was.

After finding the limiting reactant, approximate the volume of the $\rm CO_2\!$ produced.

Assume that this reaction took place under standard temperature and pressure (STP.) Under STP, the volume of one mole of ideal gas molecules would be approximately $22.4\; \rm L$.

If $\rm CO_2$ behaves like an ideal gas, the volume of that $\rm 1.00\times 10^{-3}\; \rm mol$ of $\rm CO_2\!$ molecules would be approximately $\rm 1.00\times 10^{-3}\; \rm mol \times 22.4\; \rm L = 0.224\; \rm L$.