A student is trying to determine the mass of aluminum oxide that is produced when aluminum reacts with excess oxygen.
4 Al + 3 O2 --> 2 Al2O3
The student states that 4g of aluminum reacts with 3g of oxygen to produce 2g of aluminum oxide. Is the student's reasoning correct? Explain your answer.
I know the student's reasoning is incorrect as the equations represent mole ratios rather than grams, and one gram of aluminum is different than one gram of oxygen because of the different atomic masses. Is there more to it? Can I reword it so that it is nicer? Thanks in advance.
4 Al + 3 O2 --> 2 Al2O3
The student states that 4g of aluminum reacts with 3g of oxygen to produce 2g of aluminum oxide. Is the student's reasoning correct? Explain your answer.
I know the student's reasoning is incorrect as the equations represent mole ratios rather than grams, and one gram of aluminum is different than one gram of oxygen because of the different atomic masses. Is there more to it? Can I reword it so that it is nicer? Thanks in advance.
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You're right, chemical reactions are written in terms of moles, not grams. The student should have said, "Four moles of aluminum react with 3 moles of oxygen to produce 2 moles of aluminum oxide."