Question:
Ammonium perchlorate NH₄ClO₄ is a powerful solid rocket fuel, used in the Space Shuttle boosters. It decomposes into nitrogen N₂ gas, chlorine Cl₂ gas, oxygen O₂ gas and water vapor, releasing a great deal of energy. Calculate the moles of water produced by the reaction of 2.5 mol of ammonium perchlorate. Be sure your answer has a unit symbol, if necessary, and round it to 2 significant digits.
Answer:
The number of moles of water produced by the reaction of 2.5 mol of ammonium perchlorate is 5 moles (of H₂O).
Explanation:
To solve the question, we are required to know the amount of each reagent and products there are in the balanced chemical reaction as follows
2 NH₄ClO₄ → N₂ + Cl₂ + 2O₂ + 4H₂O
From the chemical reaction stoichiometry, it shows that 2 moles of ammonium perchlorate, NH₄ClO₄ produces 4 moles of H₂O
Therefore 2.5 moles of ammonium perchlorate will produce [tex]\frac{4}{2} 2.5[/tex] moles of H₂O or 5 moles of H₂O.