Write a balanced chemical equation for the complete combustion (in the presence of excess oxygen) of: How do you start? (a) C12H26 (a component of kerosene) (b)
1 Answer
Start with the C atoms. There are 12 on the left so that must form 12
Then balance the
Always leave the
Check how many on the right.
There are 12 x 2 = 24 plus 13 x 1 = 37 in total.
So we need 37
Oxygen arrives as
This gives us the equation.
nb.
It refers to 18.5 moles of oxygen molecules.
You could easily x all the species by 2 to give:
An equation is just a statement of the relative number of moles which are reacting.