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What is the maximum weight of SO3 that could be made from 25.0 grams of SO2 and 6.0 grams of O2 by the following reaction? (Atomic Weights: S = 32 and O = 16)
Solution:
The first thing that we need to do is to get the molecular weights of SO2, O2, and SO3 from the given atomic weights.
Molecular Weight of SO2:
Molecular Weight of O2:
Molecular Weight of SO3:
Next, we will calculate the amount of SO3 which is the product of SO2 and O2. From the given reaction
Weight of SO3 from SO2:
Weight of SO3 from O2:
From the two reactants, O2 will give us the least amount of product which is SO3. O2 is the limiting reagent. On the other hand, SO2 is the excess reagent. Once O2 is completely converted into SO3, there will be a left over or unused amount of SO2 in the reaction.
In this problem, we have to choose the limiting reagent to determine the amount of product produced. Therefore, the maximum weight of SO3 is
