Taking into account the reaction stoichiometry, the correct answer is the third option: 15.63 moles of HgO are needed to produce 250 g of O₂.
In first place, the balanced reaction is:
2 HgO → 2 Hg + O₂
By reaction stoichiometry (that is, the relationship between the amount of reagents and products in a chemical reaction), the following amounts of moles of each compound participate in the reaction:
The molar mass of the compounds is:
Then, by reaction stoichiometry, the following mass quantities of each compound participate in the reaction:
Then the following rule of three can be applied: if by reaction stoichiometry 32 grams of O₂ are produced by 2 moles of HgO, 250 grams of O₂ are produced from how many moles of HgO?
[tex]moles of HgO=\frac{250 grams of O_{2} x2 moles of HgO}{32grams of O_{2}}[/tex]
moles of HgO= 15.625 moles≅ 15.63 moles
Finally, the correct answer is the third option: 15.63 moles of HgO are needed to produce 250 g of O₂.
Learn more about reaction stoichiometry:
