Which would produce the larger mass of carbon dioxide, CO₂, when combined with oxygen: 1 g of pure carbon or 1 g of pure octane (C₈H₁₄)? Assume that all the carbon is converted to carbon dioxide in both cases.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This is a stoichiometry problem. One mole of carbon reacts with one mole of oxygen to produce one mole of carbon dioxide. One mole of octane has 8 moles of carbon, so it would require 8 moles of oxygen to fully react with all the carbon to form carbon dioxide. Therefore, 1 gram of pure carbon would produce more carbon dioxide when combined with oxygen than 1 gram of pure octane.

Which Would Produce the Larger Mass of Carbon Dioxide, CO2

Which Would Produce the Larger Mass of Carbon Dioxide, CO₂