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

2 Answers
Aug 4, 2017

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?

Aug 4, 2017

#"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)" ")|)#