Question

ethanol is a chemical that is used in many hand sanitizers. it is produced when steam reacts with the chemical ethylene.
consider the following reaction:
4 molecules of ethylene (c₂h₄) react with 4 molecules of water (h₂o) to produce some amount of ethanol (c₂h₆o).
complete the table below.
during this reaction, how many molecules of ethanol (c₂h₆o) are produced?

Explanation:

Step1: Calculate the number of H atoms

Each \(C_2H_4\) has 4 H atoms, and there are 4 \(C_2H_4\) molecules (\(4\times4 = 16\) H atoms from \(C_2H_4\)). Each \(H_2O\) has 2 H atoms, and there are 4 \(H_2O\) molecules (\(4\times2=8\) H atoms from \(H_2O\)). Total H atoms: \(16 + 8=24\).

Step2: Calculate the number of C atoms

Each \(C_2H_4\) has 2 C atoms, and there are 4 \(C_2H_4\) molecules. So \(4\times2 = 8\) C atoms.

Step3: Calculate the number of O atoms

Each \(H_2O\) has 1 O atom, and there are 4 \(H_2O\) molecules. So \(4\times1=4\) O atoms.

Step4: Calculate the number of ethanol molecules

From C atoms: Each \(C_2H_6O\) has 2 C atoms. There are 8 C atoms in total. So number of \(C_2H_6O\) molecules \(=\frac{8}{2}=4\). (Check with H: Each \(C_2H_6O\) has 6 H atoms, \(4\times6 = 24\) H atoms. Check with O: Each \(C_2H_6O\) has 1 O atom, \(4\times1=4\) O atoms)

Answer:

• For H: 24
• For C: 8
• For O: 4
• Molecules of ethanol: 4