What mass of carbon dioxide is produced upon the complete combustion of 26.5 L of propane (the approximate contents of one 5-gallon tank) ? Assume that the density of the liquid propane in the tank is 0.621 g/mL. (Hint: Begin by writing a balanced equation for the combustion reaction.)

mCO2 = 49.6932 kgCO2

Explanation:

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First we propose the balanced equation C3H8 + 5O2 - --> 3CO2 + 4H2O

We see that each mole of C3H8 (propane) we get 3 moles of CO2

From the propane volume we can obtain the grams of propane used.

molpropane = 26.5L * (1000mL / 1L) * (0.621g / 1mL) * (1mol / 44g) = 374.01mol propane

mCO2 = 374.01molC3H8 * (3molCO2 / 1molC3H8) * (44gCO2 / 1molCO2) = 49369.32g * (1kg / 1000g) = 49.6932 kgCO2

mCO2 = 49.6932 kgCO2