If the combustion of fossil fuels adds about 5 *10¹² kg of carbon to the atmosphere as CO₂ each year, how much oxygen is required to produce this amount of carbon dioxide?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The combustion of fossil fuels produces carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O). The balanced chemical equation for the combustion of methane (CH4), a typical fossil fuel, is:CH4 + 2O2 → CO2 + 2H2OFrom the balanced chemical equation, we can see that 1 mole of methane requires 2 moles of oxygen to produce 1 mole of carbon dioxide. The molar mass of carbon is 12 g/mol, and the molar mass of oxygen is 16 g/mol. Therefore, 12 kg of carbon requires 32 kg of oxygen to produce 44 kg of carbon dioxide.Given that the combustion of fossil fuels adds about 5 * 10^12 kg of carbon to the atmosphere as CO2 each year, we can calculate the amount of oxygen required as follows:Amount of oxygen required = (5 * 10^12 kg C) * (32 kg O2 / 12 kg C) = 1.3 * 10^13 kg O2Therefore, the correct answer is B) about 1.3 * 10^13 kg.

If the Combustion of Fossil Fuels Adds About 5 *1012

If the Combustion of Fossil Fuels Adds About 5 *10¹²