Question
There is no oxygen in space for humans to breathe. So, astronauts living in space use electricity to break down water into hydrogen gas and oxygen gas. Consider the following reaction: Some amount of water (mathrm(H)_(2) mathrm(O)) reacts to produce 2 molecules of hydrogen (mathrm(H)_(2)) and 1 molecule of oxygen (mathrm(O)_(2)) . Use the number of atoms in the reaction to answer the question below. Chemical element & Number of atoms in the reaction H & 4 O & 2 During this reaction, how many molecules of water (mathrm(H)_(2) mathrm(O)) react?
Answer
4.4
(248 Votes)
Rosie
Professional · Tutor for 6 years
Answer
2
Explanation
In the given reaction, water (H2O) is broken down into hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2). Each molecule of water contains 2 atoms of hydrogen and 1 atom of oxygen. Given that there are 4 hydrogen atoms and 2 oxygen atoms in the reaction, we can deduce that 2 molecules of water are involved in the reaction. This is because 4 hydrogen atoms / 2 atoms per molecule of water = 2 molecules of water, and 2 oxygen atoms / 1 atom per molecule of water = 2 molecules of water. Therefore, 2 molecules of water react in this reaction.