15. When pentan-2-one undergoes complete combustion, carbon dioxide and water are the only products. The equation for this reaction is shown.
Pentan-2-one+a O2 →b CO2+b H2O
What are the values of a and b in this equation?
-
| a | b |
| A. | 7.0 | 5.0 |
| B. | 7.5 | 5.0 |
| C. | 8.0 | 6.0 |
| D. | 8.5 | 6.0 |
A
Explanation:
The molecular formula of pentan-2-one is C5H10O.
There are 5 C atoms and 10 H atoms, so the combustion produces 5/1 = 5 moles of CO2 and 10/2 = 5 moles of H2O per mole of pentan-2-one. The value of b is therefore 5.0.
There are 5×2+5×1=15 O atoms on the right-hand side of the equation but only 1 O atom in petan-2-one, so the compound must react with (15−1)/2= 7 moles of O2. The value of a is therefore 7.0.