Chemical Reaction: Methane Combustion

How many grams of carbon dioxide are produced when 191 g of methane (CH₄) are burned completely?

1) 262 g CO₂
2) 191 g CO₂
3) 524 g CO₂
4) 1050 g CO₂

Final answer:

The accurate amount of CO2 produced when 191g of methane is completely burned is 524g, corresponding to option 3.

The question is about the chemical reaction wherein methane (CH₄) burns in the presence of oxygen (O₂) to produce carbon dioxide (CO₂) and water (H2O).

Explanation:

The subject of this question relates to stoichiometry, a branch of chemistry that deals with the proportions of reactants and products in chemical reactions. First, the chemical formula for the reaction is CH₄ (methane) + 2 O₂ (oxygen) → CO₂ (carbon dioxide) + 2 H₂O (water).

In this reaction, for each mole of methane (16 grams), we produce one mole of carbon dioxide (44 grams). Therefore, the mass of carbon dioxide produced is more than twice the mass of methane burned, because the weight of one mole of CO₂ (44 grams) is significantly 'more than' that of one mole of CH₄ (16 grams).

To find out the mass of carbon dioxide produced, we can set up a proportion based on the moles of methane and carbon dioxide. If 16 g of methane (which is equivalent to 1 mole) combusts to produce 44 g of CO₂ (also equivalent to 1 mole), we can calculate the mass of CO₂ produced by 191 g of methane by using cross multiplication.

That math works out as follows: (44 g CO2 / 16 g CH4) x 191 g CH4. Solving this yields 524 g CO2. Thus, the correct answer to this question is option 3.