Question

1. a balanced chemical equation is shown below.

c + o₂ → co₂
how would the arrangement of the molecules be shown?

Explanation:

• In the chemical equation \(C + O_2

ightarrow CO_2\), \(C\) is an atom (represented by a single sphere), \(O_2\) is a diatomic molecule (two - sphere unit), and \(CO_2\) is a triatomic molecule (one \(C\) atom bonded to two \(O\) atoms).

• Option A: The reactants are \(C\) (single sphere) and \(O_2\) (two - sphere unit), and the product \(CO_2\) is a triatomic molecule (three - sphere unit where one sphere is different from the other two, representing \(C\) and \(O\) respectively).
• Option B: The \(O_2\) molecule is misrepresented as a three - atom unit (it should be two - atom), and the \(CO_2\) structure is incorrect.
• Option C: The \(CO_2\) molecule is misrepresented as a diatomic molecule.
• Option D: The \(C\) is misrepresented as a single - atom (should be a different - colored single sphere if we consider atom types, but here the main issue is that \(O_2\) is a diatomic molecule and \(CO_2\) is triatomic. Also, if we assume different colors for different atoms, \(C\) is not in the correct form as a single atom in this option's reactant side representation compared to the standard atomic/molecular models for this reaction).

Answer:

A.