Question

Write the balanced equation of the complete combustion of butane C4H10?

Answer 1

`2"C"_4"H"_10 + 13"O"_2 -> 8"CO"_2 + 10"H"_2"O"`

Explanation:

`"C"_4"H"_10 + "O"_2 -> "CO"_2 + "H"_2"O"`

Whenever it is said 'complete combustion', what must be remembered is just to write `"CO"_2` instead of `"CO"` (this is for 'incomplete combustion')

Now write coefficients:

`"C"_4"H"_10+ 13/2"O"_2 -> 4"CO"_2 + 5"H"_2"O"`

or we can multiply each side by `2`:

`2"C"_4"H"_10 + 13"O"_2 -> 8"CO"_2 + 10"H"_2"O"`