Calculating Unreacted Al in Thermite Reaction

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around calculating the amount of unreacted aluminum remaining after a thermite reaction involving iron(III) oxide and aluminum. Participants explore the stoichiometry of the reaction and how to determine the limiting reagent and excess reactant.

Discussion Character

  • Homework-related
  • Mathematical reasoning

Main Points Raised

  • One participant presents the chemical equation for the thermite reaction and poses a question about calculating unreacted aluminum after reacting with iron(III) oxide.
  • Another participant clarifies that 1 mole of iron(III) oxide reacts with 2 moles of aluminum.
  • A third participant expresses confusion regarding the calculations involved.
  • A later reply explains that aluminum is in excess and iron(III) oxide is the limiting reagent, suggesting a method to convert grams of iron(III) oxide to moles and then calculate the required moles of aluminum for the reaction.
  • This participant also outlines the steps to find the remaining moles of aluminum and how to convert that back to grams.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the stoichiometric relationships in the reaction, but there is some confusion regarding the calculations and the approach to finding the unreacted aluminum.

Contextual Notes

Some assumptions about the completeness of the reaction and the precision of measurements are not explicitly stated. The discussion does not resolve the confusion expressed by one participant regarding the calculations.

chemister
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I have a question regarding the thermite reaction.

The chemical equation for it looks like:

[tex]Fe_{2}O_{3}+2Al----2Fe+Al_{2}O_{3}[/tex]

If 1 mole of Al is reacted with 10.0g of [tex]Fe_{2}O_{3}[/tex], how many grams of unreacted Al would remain?

Would you just convert the 10.0g to moles which would be 0.0626mol and then subtract from 1? Or do you have to us some kind of ratio too?

Thanks! :smile:
 
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Basically 1mole[tex]Fe_{2}O_{3}[/tex]reacts with two moles of Al.
 
Huh? I don't understand?
 
for every 1 mol of Iron Oxide (Fe2O3) you have, you will need 2 mols of Aluminum (Al) to react it fully.

if you know how much of both you have, then this will be easy.
it is pretty obvious, if not almost blatantly stated in the question that aluminum is in excess and Iron Oxide is your limiting reagent.
so convert the gram of Iron Oxide into mols by dividing the mass by the molar weight. then you know that you will need twice as many mols of aluminum as you have Iron Oxide to react it, so double it to get the number of mols of aluminum.
You know how many mols of aluminum you started out with (1), so then subtract the used mols of aluminum from how many you have, and that is how many are left over. after you get that, just convert that into grams by mltiplying by the molar weight of aluminum.
 

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