Calculate the mass of CO2 produced from the complete combustion

[Zhalfirin88]

Homework Statement

Gasoline consists primarily of octane, C₈H₁₈

Calculate the mass of CO₂ produced from the complete combustion of 3.79 L (1.00 gallon) of gasoline (assume octane, density = 0.756 g/mL) with excess O₂

The Attempt at a Solution

The balanced chemical formula would be:

2C₈H₁₈ + 25O₂ [tex]\rightarrow[/tex] 16CO₂ + 18H₂O

For my work:

[tex] 3790mL (octane)* \frac{0.756g(octane))}{mL} * \frac{1 mol (octane)}{114.144g (octane)} * \frac{8 mol (CO_2)}{1 mol (octane)} * \frac {44.00g CO_2}{1 mol CO_2} [/tex]

[tex] = 8835.8957g CO_2 [/tex]

Is it correct? What about significant figures?

 

[Bohrok]

Looks correct. Since you start with a number with 3 significant figures and use a conversion factor with 3 sig figs, use three in your answer.

 

[Blueshift5]

Your calculation is correct, but you should round your final answer to three significant figures since the given quantity (3.79 L) has three significant figures. This would give a final answer of 8840 g CO2.