Question

What is the maximum amount of nitrogen dioxide that can be produced by mixing $4.2gm$ of $NO(g)$ and $3.2gm$ of ${O_2}(g)$ ?

Answer 1

Nitrogen Dioxide is a highly reactive gas also known as the oxide of nitrogen or nitrogen oxides. Nitrogen dioxide is also used as the indicator for nitrogen oxides. The major source of nitrogen dioxide in air is from the burning of the fuel.

Complete answer:
First step is to write the complete balanced equation of the given reaction. The balanced equation can be given as:
$2NO + {O_2} \to 2N{O_2}$
Two moles of NO react with one mole of Oxygen to give two moles of Nitrogen Dioxide.
Given that the mass of $NO$ used is $4.2gm$ and the molecular mass is $30g/mol$ , the number of moles of nitrogen monoxide can be given as:
$no.{\text{ of moles = }}\dfrac{{mass{\text{ of the compound}}}}{{Molar{\text{ mass of the compound}}}}$
Hence the number of moles of $NO = \dfrac{{4.2}}{{30}} = 0.14$ moles
From the balanced chemical reaction, we can infer that;
$2mol{\text{ NO = 2mol N}}{{\text{O}}_2}$
Hence $0.14mol$ of NO will yield $\dfrac{{2 \times 0.14}}{2} = 0.14mol$ of $N{O_2}$
The maximum amount of Nitrogen Dioxide produced is equal to the weight of nitrogen dioxide in $0.14moles$
Hence the weight of Nitrogen Dioxide $= no.{\text{ of }}moles \times molecular{\text{ mass}}$
We know that the molecular mass of $N{O_2} = 46g/mol$
Weight of $N{O_2} = 0.14 \times 46 = 6.44gm$
Therefore, the amount of Nitrogen Dioxide produced is $6.44gm$ .

Note:
Nitrogen dioxide can cause irritation of eyes, nose and when inhaled can cause irritations in lungs and decreased lung function. Prolonged exposure can lead to asthma attacks and respiratory problems. It can also lead to chronic lung diseases. Nitrogen dioxide interacts with water, air (oxygen) and other chemicals in the atmosphere to form acid rain. Acid rain is harmful for the aquatic and forest ecosystem. The nitrate particles make the air hazy, degrading the visibility. Nitrogen dioxide also causes nutrient pollution in coastal areas.