PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Problem:
A company has extended a contract to our group to create 50,000 grams of NH3 a month so that they can sell it in their stores. We must first figure out if we are able to fulfill this order before we can accept.
We are shipped 150,000 grams of N2 and 5000 liters of H2 a month.
First, we need to make a chemical equation. Since we're using N2 and H2 to make NH3, the equation needs to start like this:
N2 + H2 ---> NH3
However, this equation isn't balanced so we need to use coefficients to balance it out. Once balanced, our equation will be:
N2 + 3H2 ---> 2NH3
Second, we need to figure out if we are given enough N2 to make at least 50,000 grams of NH3.
To figure out if we have enough N2, we need to first find out how many moles of N2 we have. To do this, we'll divide the amount of grams of N2 we are given by how many grams are in 1 mole of N2. Since we are given 150,000 grams of N2 and there are 28 grams of N2 in a mole, we will divide 150,000 by 28 to get 5,357.14 moles of N2.
Next, we need to use how many moles of N2 we have to figure out how many moles of NH3 we'll get. To do this, we must look at the balanced equation to see how many moles of NH3 there are compared to moles of N2. To find out how many moles of NH3 we'll get, we need to multiply the given moles of N2 (5,357.14) by the number of moles of NH3 in the chemical equation (2). Then we will divide that product by the number of moles on N2 in the equation (1) to get 10,714.29 moles of NH3.
Now that we know how many moles of NH3 we can make, we need to find how many grams that number is equivalent to. To do this, we must look at the periodic table to find out how many grams one mole of NH3 equals. Since N is 14 grams and H is one gram, NH3 is 17 grams. Then we will multiply the moles of NH3 we have (10,714.29) by grams of one mole of NH3 (17) to get 182,142.8571 grams of NH3. Since we only need to make 50,000 grams of NH3, we can make more than enough NH3 with 150,000 grams of N2.
Third, we need to figure out if we are given enough H2 to make at least 50,000 grams of NH3.
To figure out if we have enough H2, we need to first find out how many moles of H2 we're given. Since 22.4 liters of a substance is equal to one mole, we must divide the amount of liters of H2 we have (5000) and divide it by 22.4. This gives us 223.21 moles of H2.
Next, we need to use the amount of moles of H2 we have to figure out how many moles of NH3 will be made. To do this, we will have to multiply the number of moles of H2 we are given (223.21) by the number of moles of NH3 are in the equation (2) and then divide the product by the number of moles of H2 in the equation (3). This gives us 148.81 moles of NH3.
Finally, we need to figure out how many grams on NH3 will be produced with the amount of moles of NH3. To do this, we must multiply the moles of NH3 we have (148.81) by the mass of one mole of NH3 (17 grams). This will make 2,529.76 grams of NH3.
Since we needed to make 50,000 grams of NH3, we have plenty of N2 but not nearly enough H2 to fulfill the order as it stands. If we still wanted to fulfill the order we would need to exchange some N2 for more H2.
