Question

When 3.0 g of carbon is burnt in 8.00 g oxygen, 11.00 g of carbon dioxide is produced. What mass of carbon dioxide will be formed when 3.00 g of carbon is burnt in 50.00 g of oxygen? Which law of chemical combination will govern your answer?

Answer 1

Our answer will be governed by the law of constant proportions. Now, since carbon and oxygen combine in the fixed proportion of `3 : 8` by mass to produce 11 g of carbon dioxide, therefore, the extra mass of carbon dioxide (11g) will be obtained even if we burn 3 g of carbon in 50 g of oxygen. The extra oxygen (`50 - 8 = 42 g` oxygen) will remains unreacted.