Question

sulfuryl chloride is a substance used to make chemicals for killing insects. it breaks down over time into sulfur dioxide and chlorine gas. consider the following reaction: some amount of sulfuryl chloride (so₂cl₂) breaks down to produce 3 molecules of sulfur dioxide (so₂) and 3 molecules of chlorine (cl₂). complete the table below. during this reaction, how many molecules of sulfuryl chloride (so₂cl₂) react?

Explanation:

Step1: Write the balanced chemical equation

The reaction is \(SO_{2}Cl_{2}
ightarrow SO_{2}+Cl_{2}\). If there are 3 molecules of \(SO_{2}\) and 3 molecules of \(Cl_{2}\), then the balanced equation is \(3SO_{2}Cl_{2}
ightarrow 3SO_{2}+3Cl_{2}\)

Step2: Count the number of atoms for each element

• For \(O\):

In \(SO_{2}\), each \(SO_{2}\) molecule has 2 \(O\) atoms. With 3 \(SO_{2}\) molecules, the number of \(O\) atoms is \(3\times2 = 6\)

• For \(S\):

In \(SO_{2}\), each \(SO_{2}\) molecule has 1 \(S\) atom. With 3 \(SO_{2}\) molecules, the number of \(S\) atoms is \(3\times1=3\)

• For \(Cl\):

In \(Cl_{2}\), each \(Cl_{2}\) molecule has 2 \(Cl\) atoms. With 3 \(Cl_{2}\) molecules, the number of \(Cl\) atoms is \(3\times 2=6\)

Step3: Determine the number of \(SO_{2}Cl_{2}\) molecules

From the balanced equation \(3SO_{2}Cl_{2}
ightarrow 3SO_{2}+3Cl_{2}\), the number of \(SO_{2}Cl_{2}\) molecules that react is 3

Answer:

Chemical element	Number of atoms in the reaction
\(S\)	\(3\)
\(Cl\)	\(6\)

The number of molecules of \(SO_{2}Cl_{2}\) that react is \(3\)