How would you balance the following equation: C3H8 + O2 --> CO3 + H20?

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How would you balance the following equation: C3H8 + O2 --> CO3 + H20?

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Answer 1 · 2015-12-16T13:15:22

$2 C_{3} H_{8} + 13 O_{2} \to 6 C O_{3} + 8 H_{2} O$ $color(blue)(2)C_3H_8+color(blue)(13)O_2 rarr color(blue)(6)CO_3+color(blue)(8)H_2O$

Explanation:

$n C_{3} H_{8} + m O_{2} \to p C O_{3} + q H_{2} O$ $color(blue)(n)C_3H_8 + color(blue)(m)O_2rarr color(blue)(p)CO_3+color(blue)(q)H_2O$

We are looking for minimal integer solutions for:

$3 n = p$ $3n=p$
$8 n = 2 q$ $8n=2q$
$2 m = 3 p + q$ $2m=3p+q$

We can try a few values for $n$ $n$
$n = 1$ $n=1$

$3 (1) = p$ $3(1)=p$ ...okay
$8 (1) = 2 q \to q = 4$ $8(1)=2q rarr q=4$ ...okay
$2 m = 3 (3) + 4$ $2m=3(3)+4$ ...No; would require $m$ $m$ to be a fraction

$n = 2$ $n=2$

$3 (2) = 6 = p$ $3(2)=6=p$ ...okay
$8 (2) = 2 q \to q = 8$ $8(2)=2q rarr q=8$ ...okay
$2 m = 3 (6) + 8 \to m = 13$ $2m= 3(6)+8 rarr m= 13$ ...okay

and we have our solution.

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How would you balance the following equation: C3H8 + O2 --> CO3 + H20?

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