Question

What is the chemical equation for the combustion of butane?

Answer 1

Butane + oxygen `rarr` carbon dioxide + water

Explanation:

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

Is the equation above balanced? How do you know? How would you remove the `13/2` coefficient for dioxygen?

The reaction above represents complete combustion. Suppose I wanted to model a reaction where some of the hydrocarbon were combusted to `CO`; how would you represent this?

Answer 2

`color(red)(2)"C"_4"H"_10("g") + color(red)(13)"O"_2("g")` `rarr` `color(red)8"CO"_2("g") + color(red)(10)"H"_2"O(g)"`

Explanation:

The chemical formula of butane is `"C"_4"H"_10"`. The combustion of butane is a reaction between butane and oxygen gas that produces carbon dioxide gas and water.

`color(red)(2)"C"_4"H"_10("g") + color(red)(13)"O"_2("g")` `rarr` `color(red)8"CO"_2("g") + color(red)(10)"H"_2"O(g)"`