Question

What is the chemical equation for butane burning completely in air?

Answer 1

Butane is completely combusted to carbon dioxide and water........

Explanation:

`C_4H_10(g) + 13/2O_2(g) rarr 4CO_2(g) + 5H_2O(l)+Delta`

If you like, you can double the equation to remove the half-integral coefficient. What does the `Delta` symbol on the reactant side represent?

Answer 2

`"C"_4"H"_10(g) + 13/2"O"_2(g) rarr 4"CO"_2(g) + 5"H"_2"O"(g)`

Explanation:

Butane (`"C"_4"H"_10`) is undergoing complete combustion here, so we can write our generic hydrocarbon combustion equation:

`ul("hydrocarbon" + "oxygen" rarr "carbon dioxide" + "water (vapor)"` (complete combustion)

Now we fill in the reagents and balance the equation:

`"C"_4"H"_10(g) + "O"_2(g) rarr "CO"_2(g) + "H"_2"O"(g)` (unbalanced)

`color(red)(ulbar(|stackrel(" ")(" ""C"_4"H"_10(g) + 13/2"O"_2(g) rarr 4"CO"_2(g) + 5"H"_2"O"(g)" ")|)`