Question

Ammonium perchlorate NH4ClO4 is the solid rocket fuel used by the U.S. Space Shuttle. It reacts with itself to produce nitrogen gas N2, chlorine gas Cl2, oxygen gas O2, water H2O, and a great deal of energy. What mass of chlorine gas is produced by the reaction of 3.3g of ammonium perchlorate? Be sure your answer has the correct number of significant digits.

Answer 1

Answer: 0.99 grams of chlorine gas is produced by the reaction of 3.3g of ammonium perchlorate

Explanation:

To calculate the moles, we use the equation:

$\text{Number of moles}=\frac{\text{Given mass}}{\text {Molar mass}}$  

$\text{Number of moles of } NH_4ClO_4=\frac{3.3g}{117.5g/mol}=0.028moles$

The decomposition of ammonium perchlorate is :

$2NH_4ClO_4\rightarrow Cl_2+N_2+2O_2+4H_2O$

According to stoichiometry :

2 moles of $NH_4ClO_4$ produce =  1 mole of $Cl_2$

Thus 0.028 moles of $NH_4ClO_4$ produce=$\frac{1}{2}\times 0.028=0.014moles$  of $Cl_2$  

Mass of $Cl_2=moles\times {\text {Molar mass}}=0.014moles\times 71g/mol=0.99g$

Thus 0.99 grams of chlorine gas is produced by the reaction of 3.3g of ammonium perchlorate