Question

Help please ASAP

Pentane gas (C5H12) combusts with oxygen gas (O2) to form water (H2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2). Write a balanced chemical equation for this reaction and explain the scientific principle (statement) that requires the balancing of an equation to make it conform to reality.

Answer 1

The scientific principle you're referring to here is the law of conservation of mass. The unbalanced equation would be:

C5H12 + O2 --> H2O + CO2

We need the same number of each atom on both sides for mass to be conserved. Start with C because it only appears once on both sides. We have 5 on the left, so we need 5 on the right:

C5H12 + O2 --> H2O + 5CO2

Now we can do the same with H. There are 12 on the left, but only 2 on the right:

C5H12 + O2 --> 6H2O + 5CO2

Finally we can balance the O's. There are 2 on the left, but 16 on the right. Your final balanced equation will be:

C5H12 + 8O2 --> 6H2O + 5CO2