How many moles of O2 should be supplied to burn 1 mole of C3H8 (propane) molecules in a camping stove?

2 Comments

1. kodie says:

   March 18, 2010 at 12:17 am

   this is a combustion reaction;

   C3H8 + 5O2 –> 3CO2 + 4H2O

   According to the balanced reaction equation given above, the mole ratio between O2 and C3H8 is 5:1
   Thus, 5 moles of O2 should be supplied to burn 1 mole of C3H8

   hope this helps:-)
2. tlbs101 says:

   March 18, 2010 at 12:17 am

   Given that the 2 products of combustion are CO2 and H2O, I count 5 O2’s to balance that equation.

   C3H8 + 5O2 => 3CO2 + 4H2O

   .