How Much Sodium Is Required to Produce 8g of Sodium Hydroxide?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around calculating the amount of sodium required to produce 8 grams of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) through its reaction with water. Participants explore the stoichiometry of the reaction, including the balanced chemical equation and the conversion of mass to moles.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation
  • Mathematical reasoning
  • Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • One participant presents the balanced equation for the reaction: 2 Na + 2 H2O --- 2 NaOH + H2, and notes the molar mass of NaOH as 40 g.
  • Another participant suggests using the balanced equation to express the relationship between the masses of sodium and sodium hydroxide, hinting at a unitary method for calculations.
  • A participant explains that the stoichiometric ratio of sodium to sodium hydroxide is 1:1, indicating that the moles of sodium produced correspond directly to the moles of sodium hydroxide formed.
  • One participant calculates that 23 grams of sodium produces 40 grams of sodium hydroxide and attempts to find the mass of sodium needed for 8 grams of NaOH using a proportion.
  • A later reply confirms the calculation, stating that 4.6 grams of sodium is required to produce 8 grams of sodium hydroxide, but does not clarify if this is definitively correct.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

While some participants agree on the calculations and the stoichiometric relationships, there is no explicit consensus on the final answer, as the confirmation of the answer is presented without further verification.

Contextual Notes

Participants rely on the balanced equation and molar masses but do not explicitly address potential assumptions or limitations in their calculations.

ignacioserra
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Hello!
Can somebody help to figure out this pls?


Sodium reacts in water to form sodium hydroxide and hydrogen gas. Write a balanced equation for this reaction and calculate how many grams of it are needed to prepare 8 g of sodium hydroxide by this method.
Ar(H)=1 Ar(O)=16 Ar(Na)=23

Balanced equation:
2 Na + 2 H2O --- 2 NaOH + H2

Sodium hydroxide mass: 40 g
I could easily figure out the balanced equation, but I don't know how to do the rest.
Thx!
 
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ignacioserra said:
Hello!
Can somebody help to figure out this please?


Sodium reacts in water to form sodium hydroxide and hydrogen gas. Write a balanced equation for this reaction and calculate how many grams of it are needed to prepare 8 g of sodium hydroxide by this method.
Ar(H)=1 Ar(O)=16 Ar(Na)=23

Balanced equation:
2 Na + 2 H2O --- 2 NaOH + H2

Sodium hydroxide mass: 40 g
I could easily figure out the balanced equation, but I don't know how to do the rest.
Thanks!

Hint :What do you get from equation ? Can you express mass of NaOH and Na in gram molecular mass in the equation ?

From equation what can you say ? How many mass of Na can prepare how many mass of NaOH in gram molecular mass ? Apply unitary method...
 


ignacioserra said:
2 Na + 2 H2O --- 2 NaOH + H2

It tells you: two moles of Na react with two moles of water yielding two moles of NaOH and one mole of hydrogen gas.

Ratio of the reactants and products always stays the same (assuming there is enough other reactants present). In this case ratio of Na to NaOH is 1:1 (which is equivalent to 2:2). 2 moles of Na produce 2 moles of NaOH. 1 mole of Na produces 1 mole of NaOH. 10 moles of Na produce 10 moles of Na. 0.0000000001 mole of Na produces 0.0000000001 mole of NaOH.

It also works the other way. If 2 moles of NaOH were produced, there were 2 moles of Na. If 0.4 moles of NaOH were produced, there were 0.4 moles of Na present.

Now all you need it to convert given mass to moles, convert 8 grams of NaOH to moles, find out how many moles of Na were needed, and convert it to Na mass.
 


So:
NaOH= 16+23+1= 40
Na= 23

23g of Na produce 40 g of NaOH. Right?

So,

23 --- 40
x --- 8 ?

40/5 = 8
23/5= 4.6 g

is that the answer?
 
ignacioserra said:
So:
NaOH= 16+23+1= 40
Na= 23

23g of Na produce 40 g of NaOH. Right?

So,

23 --- 40
x --- 8 ?

40/5 = 8
23/5= 4.6 g

is that the answer?

Yes , that's the answer ! You got the correct answer..:smile:
Well done !

Note : Here 2 moles of NaOH are produced from 2 moles of Na. Ultimately 2 and 2 on both sides canceled , so your answer remained unaffected.

For future reference :
http://www.sciencebugz.com/chemistry/chsolstoich.htm
http://www.sciencegeek.net/Chemistry/taters/Unit4Stoichiometry.htm
http://www.kentchemistry.com/links/Math/LImiting.htm
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_solve_stoichiometry_problems
 

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