Chemical Reaction: Calculating the Formation of Silicon Carbide

What is the process to calculate the amount of silicon carbide formed from graphite and silicon dioxide?

Calculation Process:

To determine the amount of silicon carbide formed from graphite and silicon dioxide, we need to follow these steps:

1. Convert the given masses of graphite and silicon dioxide to moles using their molar masses.
2. Apply the stoichiometry of the balanced chemical reaction to find the limiting reagent.
3. Calculate the mass of silicon carbide formed based on the limiting reagent.

Explanation:

When calculating the formation of silicon carbide (SiC) from 10.0 grams of graphite and 65.0 grams of silicon dioxide according to the reaction SiO₂(s) + 2C(s) -> SiC(s) + CO₂(g), we first convert the masses of graphite and silicon dioxide to moles using their respective molar masses.

The molar mass of SiO₂ is approximately 60.1 g/mol, while the molar mass of C is 12.0 g/mol. By converting the given masses, we find that there are about 1.08 moles of SiO₂ and 0.83 moles of C.

According to the balanced chemical equation, 1 mole of SiO₂ reacts with 2 moles of C to produce 1 mole of SiC. Since C is the limiting reagent in this case (insufficient to react with all of the SiO₂), the amount of SiC formed is determined by the amount of graphite present.

Converting the moles of graphite to grams of SiC (using the 1:1 mole ratio of C to SiC) yields approximately 10.0 grams of silicon carbide, which is the final answer.

By understanding the stoichiometry of the reaction and identifying the limiting reagent, we can accurately calculate the amount of product formed in a chemical reaction.