Combustion

[Julia Lee]

Hey, do any of you guys know what the problem is telling us if it says that there is a combustion of whatever molecule? If we were writing a chemical equation for that would it just be whatever molecule + O2 ?

[Joonsoo Kim 4L]

I'm pretty sure that the combustion of a hydrocarbon follows this pattern:

Hydrocarbon + (x)O2 -> (y)CO2 + (z)H2O

Where (x), (y), and (z) are stoichiometric coefficients you assign to balance the equation. An analogy from class that helped me to remember this was oxygen metabolism: when you consume food (usually comprised of hydrocarbons) and breathe oxygen, you exhale CO2 and water.

[Olivia Young 1A]

If a problem is telling you that there is a combustion of a certain molecule, then it is essentially saying that the designated organic molecule combines with oxygen(O2) to form carbon dioxide(CO2) and water(H2O). Since the combustion of molecules occurs in air, there is an excess of O2 molecules, so the appropriate hydrocarbon is always the limiting reagent. The combustion of organic molecules is just like oxidative metabolism in which they all release energy. Therefore, a chemical equation involving combustion would go as follows:

Organic compound(gas) + O2(gas) --> CO2(gas) + H2O(gas)

[904914909]

Combustion is just the combination of an organic molecule with O2 and it includes the products CO2 and H2O

[Emily Ng_4C]

Combustion requires the presence of O2 and will always form H2O and CO2.

[Duby3L]

A combustion reaction will always yield the products of CO2 and H2O.

[Austin Clack]

Yes you are right. In a chemical equation oxygen is necessary for combustion. This will always yield water vapor and CO2, like others have said. However, the additional product of energy is present as well.