Question

the surface of iron slowly reacts with moisture and oxygen in the air to form rust. the iron oxide that forms tends to peel off, exposing more iron that will continue to corrode. rust chipping off iron rings near the ocean the chemical equation for this reaction is shown below. 4fe(s) + 3o₂(g) → 2fe₂o₃(s) use the chemical equation to complete the statements. iron (fe) has a of 4. oxygen (o₂) has a of 2. iron(iii) oxide (fe₂o₃) has a of 3. image credit

Explanation:

In a chemical equation, the coefficient is the number in front of the chemical formula. For example, in \(4\text{Fe}(s)+3\text{O}_2(g)\to2\text{Fe}_2\text{O}_3(s)\), the \(4\) in front of \(\text{Fe}\) is the coefficient of iron. The subscript is a number within the chemical formula that indicates the number of atoms of an element in a molecule. In \(\text{Fe}_2\text{O}_3\), the \(3\) is the subscript of oxygen (it indicates there are 3 oxygen atoms in one formula unit of iron(III) oxide). For \(\text{O}_2\), the \(2\) is the subscript (it shows there are 2 oxygen atoms in one oxygen molecule).

Answer:

• Iron (\(\text{Fe}\)) has a coefficient of \(4\).
• Oxygen (\(\text{O}_2\)) has a subscript of \(2\).
• Iron(III) oxide (\(\text{Fe}_2\text{O}_3\)) has a subscript of \(3\).