Question

Acetylene is the substance burned in oxy-acetylene torches. Write a balanced equation for the complete oxidation reaction that occurs when acetylene (C2H2) burns in air. Use the smallest possible integer coefficients.

Answer 1

Answer: $2C_2H_2+5O_2\rightarrow 4CO_2+2H_2O$

Explanation:

According to the law of conservation of mass, mass can neither be created nor be destroyed. Thus the mass of products must be same as the mass of reactants.

For the conservation of mass, the number of atoms of each element must be same in reactants and products. Thus we need to balance the reaction by writing appropriate stochiometric coefficients.

All the hydrocarbons burn in oxygen to form carbon dioxide and water.Thus the complete balanced equation is:

$2C_2H_2+5O_2\rightarrow 4CO_2+2H_2O$