SCS126 Practice Problems

Weeks 1-2

1. A supersonic aircraft consumes 5320 imperial gallons of kerosene per hour of flight and flies
an average of 14 hours per day. It takes roughly seven tons of crude oil to produce one ton of
kerosene. The density of kerosene is 0.965 g/cm3 . How many planes would it take to consume
the entire annual world production of 4.02 ⇥ 109 metric tons of crude oil?

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2. Vanillin (used to flavor vanilla ice cream and other foods) is the substance whose aroma the

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human nose detects in the smallest amount. The threshold limit is 2.0 ⇥ 10 11 g per liter of
air. If the current price of 50 g of vanillin is 112, determine the cost to supply enough vanillin

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so that the aroma could be detected in a large aircraft hangar with a volume of 5.0 ⇥ 107 ft3 .

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3. Fluoridation is the process of adding fluorine compounds to drinking water to help fight
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tooth decay. A concentration of 1 ppm of fluorine is sufficient for the purpose. (1 ppm means
one part per million, or 1 g of fluorine per 1 million g of water.) The compound normally

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chosen for fluoridation is sodium fluoride, which is also added to some toothpastes. Calculate
the quantity of sodium fluoride in kilograms needed per year for a city of 50,000 people if the

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daily consumption of water per person is 150 gallons. What percent of the sodium fluoride is
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“wasted” if each person uses only 6.0 L of water a day for drinking and cooking? (Sodium
fluoride is 45.0 percent fluorine by mass. 1 gallon = 3.79 L; 1 year = 365 days; density of water
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= 1.0 g/mL.)
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4. A gas company in Massachusetts charges 1.30 for 15.0 ft3 of natural gas. (a) Convert this
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rate to dollars per liter of gas. (b) If it takes 0.304 ft3 of gas to boil a liter of water, starting at
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room temperature (25 C), how much would it cost to boil a 2.1-L kettle of water?
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5. Pheromones are compounds secreted by females of many insect species to attract mates.
Typically, 1.0 ⇥ 10 8 g of a pheromone is sufficient to reach all targeted males within a radius
of 0.50 mi. Calculate the density of the pheromone (in grams per liter) in a cylindrical air space
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having a radius of 0.50 mi and a height of 40 ft.

6. Give two examples of each of the following: (a) a diatomic molecule containing atoms of the
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same element, (b) a diatomic molecule containing atoms of di↵erent elements, (c) a polyatomic
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molecule containing atoms of the same element, (d) a polyatomic molecule containing atoms of
di↵erent elements.
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7. What are the empirical formulas of the following compounds? (a) C2 N2 , (b) C6 H6 , (c)
C9 H20 , (d) P4 O10 , (e) B2 H6
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8. Name these compounds: (a) Na2 CrO4 , (b) K2 HPO4 , (c) HBr (gas), (d) HBr (in water),
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(e) Li2 CO3 , (f) K2 Cr2 O7 , (g) NH4 NO2 , (h) PF3 , (i) PF5 , (j) P4 O6 , (k) CdI2 , (l) SrSO4 , (m)
Al(OH)3 , (n) Na2 CO3 · 10 H2 O

9. How many molecules of ethane (C2 H6 ) are present in 0.334 g of C2 H6 ?

10. For many years chloroform (CHCl3 ) was used as an inhalation anesthetic in spite of the
fact that it is also a toxic substance that may cause severe liver, kidney, and heart damage.
Calculate the percent composition by mass of this compound.

11. Peroxyacylnitrate (PAN) is one of the components of smog. It is a compound of C, H,

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 12. Balance the following equations:

(a) N2 O5 ! N2 O 4 + O 2
(b) KNO3 ! KNO2 + O2
(c) NH4 NO3 ! N2 O + H2 O
(d) NH4 NO2 ! N2 + H2 O
(e) NaHCO3 ! Na2 CO3 + H2 O + CO2

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(f) Cu + HNO3 ! Cu(NO3 )2 + NO + H2 O

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13. When potassium cyanide (KCN) reacts with acids, a deadly poisonous gas, hydrogen
cyanide (HCN), is given o↵. Here is the equation:

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KCN(aq) + HCl(aq) ! KCl(aq) + HCN(g)
If a sample of 0.140 g of KCN is treated with an excess of HCl, calculate the amount of HCN

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formed, in grams.

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14. Each copper(II) sulfate unit is associated with five water molecules in crystalline copper(II)

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sulfate pentahydrate (CuSO4 · 5 H2 O). When this compound is heated in air above 100 C, it
loses the water molecules and also its blue color:

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CuSO4 · 5 H2 O ! CuSO4 + 5 H2 O
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If 9.60 g of CuSO4 are left after heating 15.01 g of the blue compound, calculate the number of
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moles of H2 O originally present in the compound.
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15. Disulfide dichloride (S2 Cl2 ) is used in the vulcanization of rubber, a process that prevents
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the slippage of rubber molecules past one another when stretched. It is prepared by heating
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sulfur in an atmosphere of chlorine:

What is the theoretical yield of S2 Cl2 in grams when 4.06 g of S8 are heated with 6.24 g of Cl2 ?
If the actual yield of S2 Cl2 is 6.55 g, what is the percent yield?
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16. A certain metal oxide has the formula MO where M denotes the metal. A 39.46-g sample
of the compound is strongly heated in an atmosphere of hydrogen to remove oxygen as water
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molecules. At the end, 31.70 g of the metal is left over. If O has an atomic mass of 16.00 amu,
calculate the atomic mass of M and identify the element.
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17. Carbon dioxide (CO2 ) is the gas that is mainly responsible for global warming (the green-
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house e↵ect). The burning of fossil fuels is a major cause of the increased concentration of CO2
in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is also the end product of metabolism. Using glucose as an
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example of food, calculate the annual human production of CO2 in grams, assuming that each
person consumes 5.0 ⇥ 102 g of glucose per day. The world’s population is 6.5 billion, and there
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are 365 days in a year.

18. For the complete redox reactions given here, write the half-reactions and identify the oxi-
dizing and reducing agents:

(a) 4 Fe + 3 O2 ! 2 Fe2 O3
(b) Cl2 + 2 NaBr ! 2 NaCl + Br2
(c) Si + F2 ! SiF4
(d) H2 + Cl2 ! 2 HCl

19. Predict the outcome of the reactions represented by the following equations by using the
activity series, and balance the equations.

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 (a) Cu(s) + HCl(aq) !
(b) I2 (s) + NaBr(aq) !
(c) Mg(s) + CuSO4 (aq) !
(d) Cl2 (g) + KBr(aq) !

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20. Determine how many grams of each of the following solutes would be needed to make
2.50 ⇥ 102 mL of a 0.100 M solution: (a) cesium iodide (CsI), (b) sulfuric acid (H2 SO4 ), (c)
sodium carbonate (Na2 CO3 ), (d) potassium dichromate (K2 Cr2 O7 ), (e) potassium perman-

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ganate (KMnO4 ).

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21. The concentration of a hydrogen peroxide solution can be conveniently determined by titra-
tion against a standardized potassium permanganate solution in an acidic medium according

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to the following equation:
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2 MnO4 – + 5 H2 O2 + 6 H+ ! 5 O2 + 2 Mn2+ + 8 H2 O

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If 36.44 mL of a 0.01652 M KMnO4 solution are required to oxidize -
25.00 mL of a H2 O2 solution,
calculate the molarity of the H2 O2 solution.

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22. A 1.00-g sample of a metal X (that is known to form X2+ ions) was added to 0.100 L of

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0.500 M H2 SO4 . After all the metal had reacted, the remaining acid required 0.0334 L of 0.500
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M NaOH solution for neutralization. Calculate the molar mass of the metal and identify the
element.
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7. (a) CN, (b) CH, (c) C9 H20 , (d) P2 O5 , (e) BH3

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 (a) 2 N2 O5 ! 2 N2 O4 + O2
(b) 2 KNO3 ! 2 KNO2 + O2
(c) NH4 NO3 ! N2 O + 2 H 2 O
(d) NH4 NO2 ! N2 + 2 H 2 O
(e) 2 NaHCO3 ! Na2 CO3 + H2 O + CO2
(f) 3 Cu + 8 HNO3 ! 3 Cu(NO3 )2 + 2 NO + 4 H2 O
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