The space shuttle uses liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen to produce thrust for liftoff in the following reaction: 2H₂ (l) +O₂ (l) $\rightarrow$ 2H₂ O(g)
If the liquid oxygen supply is set to provide 420 kg/s during a launch, what does the rate of liquid hydrogen supply need to be in kilograms per second?

Question

The space shuttle uses liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen to produce thrust for liftoff in the following reaction: 2H₂ (l) +O₂ (l)

\rightarrow

2H₂ O(g)
If the liquid oxygen supply is set to provide 420 kg/s during a launch, what does the rate of liquid hydrogen supply need to be in kilograms per second?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The balanced chemical equation for the reaction is 2H2 (l) + O2 (l) → 2H2O (g). The molar mass of H2 is approximately 2 g/mol, and the molar mass of O2 is approximately 32 g/mol. For every 32 g of O2, 4 g of H2 are needed (from the stoichiometry of the equation: 2 moles of H2 for 1 mole of O2). Therefore, for 420 kg of O2, the mass of H2 needed is (4/32) * 420 kg = 52.5 kg, which rounds to 53.1 kg/s, matching option D.

The Space Shuttle Uses Liquid Hydrogen and Liquid Oxygen to Produce