Making a word equation out of a symbol equation

Credendovidis · Jan 11, 2009, 03:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by starbiny

CH4 + 3 O2 -> CO2 + 2 H2O . . . (CH4 = methane)

One methane atom (?) reacts with three oxygen molecules (?) to give one carbon cabon dioxide (ATOM OR MOLECULE?) + two water molecules (?)

Hello starbiny

Methane = CH4 = 1 C atom + 4 H atoms ---> So is Methane an atom or a molecule ?
Oxygen = O2 = 2 oxygen atoms ---> So is Oxygen in this case an atom or a molecule ?
Carbon dioxide CO2 = 1 C atom + 2 O atoms ---> So is Carbon dioxide an atom or a molecule ?
Water H2O = 2 H atoms and 1 O atom ---> So is Water an atom or a molecule ?

Note :

An atom is always a single unit (that exists of a combination of a proton/neutron core with one or more electrons).
Molecules are always a connected group of 2 or more atoms.

In nature most matter is in molecule - and not in atom - format.

.

rwinterton · Jan 13, 2009, 09:20 AM

First note that if an atom is alone (not combined with another atom -- even of its own kind), it is an "atom". Otherwise, it is a molecule. O2 is a molecule while O is an atom.

So,

CH4+3 O2 -> CO2+2 H2O (CH4=methane)

One molecule of methane reacts with three molecules of oxygen to yield (or to give) one molecule of carbon dioxide and two molecules of water.

Often, instead of saying "molecules", chemists will say "moles" meaning "gram molecular weights", since most chemists don't work with single atoms or molecules. So, I might say:

One mole of methane reacts with three moles of oxygen to yield one mole of carbon dioxide and two moles of water.

Making a word equation out of a symbol equation

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