Question

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Sulfur dioxide gas (SO2) reacts with excess oxygen gas (O2) and excess liquid water (H2O) to form liquid sulfuric acid (H2SO4) according to the reaction below. In the laboratory, a chemist carries out this reaction with 67.2 L of sulfur dioxide and gets 250 g of sulfuric acid.

2SO2 +O2 +2H2O--> 2H2SO4

Calculate the theoretical yield of sulfuric acid.


67.2 g H2SO4


294 g H2SO4


250 g H2SO4


125 g H2SO4

Answer 1

To find the theoretical yield of sulfuric acid, the volume of sulfur dioxide used in the reaction (67.2 L) is converted to moles, which is then used in stoichiometric calculations with the balanced equation, resulting in a theoretical yield of 294 g of sulfuric acid.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the theoretical yield of sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄), we need to use the stoichiometry of the balanced chemical equation. First, let's determine the number of moles of SO₂ that reacted. At standard temperature and pressure (STP), 1 mole of any gas occupies 22.4 L. Given that the student used 67.2 L of SO₂:

Convert the volume of SO₂ to moles: moles of SO₂ = 67.2 L / 22.4 L/mol

= 3 moles.

The balanced equation shows that 2 moles of SO₂ yields 2 moles of H₂SO₄, hence 3 moles of SO₂ would theoretically yield 3 moles of H₂SO₄.

Find the molar mass of H₂SO₄ (2x1 + 32 + 4x16 = 98 g/mol) and calculate the theoretical yield: 3 moles * 98 g/mol = 294 g.

Thus, the theoretical yield of sulfuric acid is 294 g.