Photo AI

When decane undergoes complete combustion, a mixture of carbon dioxide and water is formed - Edexcel - GCSE Chemistry - Question 4 - 2016 - Paper 1

Question icon

Question 4

When-decane-undergoes-complete-combustion,-a-mixture-of-carbon-dioxide-and-water-is-formed-Edexcel-GCSE Chemistry-Question 4-2016-Paper 1.png

When decane undergoes complete combustion, a mixture of carbon dioxide and water is formed. Complete the balanced equation for this reaction. 2C₁₀H₂₂ + O₂ → _______... show full transcript

Worked Solution & Example Answer:When decane undergoes complete combustion, a mixture of carbon dioxide and water is formed - Edexcel - GCSE Chemistry - Question 4 - 2016 - Paper 1

Step 1

Complete the balanced equation for this reaction.

96%

114 rated

Answer

To complete the balanced equation for complete combustion of decane, we need to calculate the products formed from its combustion. The general equation for the combustion of alkanes is:

CnH2n+2+O2→CO2+H2OC_nH_{2n+2} + O_2 → CO_2 + H_2O

In the case of decane (C₁₀H₂₂), we can set up the following reaction:

2C10H22+31O2→20CO2+22H2O2C_{10}H_{22} + 31O_2 → 20CO_2 + 22H_2O

Thus, the completed equation is:

2C10H22+31O2→20CO2+22H2O2C_{10}H_{22} + 31O_2 → 20CO_2 + 22H_2O

Step 2

Which of the following is the empirical formula for butane?

99%

104 rated

Answer

To find the empirical formula of butane (C₄H₁₀), we divide the number of carbon (C) and hydrogen (H) atoms by their greatest common divisor.

  • Carbon: 4
  • Hydrogen: 10

The greatest common divisor is 2, so:

C42:H102=C2H5\frac{C_4}{2}:\frac{H_{10}}{2} = C_2H_5

This means that the empirical formula of butane is C₂H₅, which indicates that the correct answer is A: CH.

Join the GCSE students using SimpleStudy...

97% of Students

Report Improved Results

98% of Students

Recommend to friends

100,000+

Students Supported

1 Million+

Questions answered

;