A major component of gasoline is octane (C8H18). When octane is burned in air, it chemically reacts with oxygen gas (O2) to produce carbon dioxide (CO2)and water (H2O). What mass of octane is consumed by the reaction of 1.2 g of oxygen gas?

0.342g of octane

Explanation:

First let us generate a balanced equation for the reaction this is illustrated below:

2C8H18 + 25O2 —> 16CO2 + 18H20

Next, we'll calculate the molar mass and masses of C8H18 and O2

Molar Mass of C8H18 = (12x8) + (18x1 ) = 96 + 18 = 114g/mol

Mass of C8H18 from the balanced equation = 2 x 114 = 228g

Molar Mass of O2 = 16 x 2 = 32g/mol

Mass of O2 from the balanced equation = 25 x 32 = 800g

From the equation,

228g of octane(C8H18) were consumed by 800g of O2.

Therefore, Xg of octane will be consumed by 1.2g of O2 i.e

Xg of octane = (228 x 1.2)/800 = 0.342g

Therefore 0.342g of octane will be consumed