Chemistry 151 Name_______________________________

Chemical Thinking

Spring 2017 TA Name_________________________

UNIT 4 Assessment

Lab Section # _________________

Monster Trucks

As you are aware – monster trucks are rather majestic and there is a lot of interesting chemistry behind their
awesomeness. Almost every detail of these marvels is considered and optimized from a chemical basis; from the

m
selection and mixture of fuel and oxidant, the polymers and plasticizers used in the body, the pigments for paint, the fire

er as
retardants in the cockpit, and even the gas used in the tires – they don’t even just fill them with normal air! In this

co
eH w
assessment, you will utilize your chemical thinking to consider various chemical aspects of the monster trucks.
Note: you do not need to know anything about monster trucks to complete any portion of this examination.

o.
rs e
ou urc
Relevant Information:
!! !!
𝐹= NA = 6.022 x 1023 PV = nRT = NkT
o

!!
aC s
vi y re

Some Electronegativities:

H(2.1), C(2.5), N(3.0), O(3.5), F(4.0), Na(0.9), Mg(1.2), Al(1.5), P(2.1), S(2.5), Cl(3.0), Br(2.8)
ed d
ar stu
sh is
Th

[Link]
 (Questions 1-4) Methanol (CH3OH) is often the fuel of choice in monster trucks
and race cars – evident by the “sweet” smelling exhaust. The primary reaction
involving methanol is shown below in Reaction I. Reaction II represents a
reaction for monster trucks utilizing “normal” fuel – “normal” considered as
octane (C8H18).
Reaction I CH3OH (l) + 2O2 (g) ß à CO2 (g) + 2H2O (g)
Reaction II 2C8H18 (l) + 25O2 (g) ß à 16CO2 (g) + 18H2O (g)

1. Identify the statement below that is most correct regarding Reaction I.

a. Reaction I. is a reactant favored reaction b. Reaction I. is a physical change, not chemical
c. Reaction I. is endothermic under all conditions d. Reaction I. is exothermic under all conditions

2. Identify the PEC diagram that best describes the systems for both Reaction I and Reaction II.

m
er as
co
eH w
o.
rs e
ou urc
3. Identify the best option below for reducing the rate of Reaction I.
a. increase the concentration of O2 in the system
o

b. add some ethanol which reduces the activation energy for the reaction
aC s

c. add some lead compounds which function to lower the temperature in the reaction container
vi y re

d. add a catalyst to the system

ed d
ar stu

4. The ∆EP per kilogram of methanol in Reaction I is less than the ∆EP per kilogram of octane in Reaction
II, and the rate for Reaction II is greater than that for Reaction I. Identify the EP vs. Reaction Path
diagram below that correctly illustrates this.
sh is
Th

[Link]
 (Questions 5-10) A byproduct of methanol combustion is formaldehyde. Formaldehyde
itself can undergo a combustion reaction as presented as Reaction III.
Reaction III CH2O (l) + O2 (g) ß à CO2 (g) + H2O (g)
ΔEP = -285 kJ / mol of CH2O , EA = +170 kJ/mol

5. When the above system (Reaction III) initially consists of 6 moles of formaldehyde and 5 moles of O2,
the maximum number of moles of CO2 that can be produced is?
a. 5 b. 1 c. 6 d. 11

6. When the above system (Reaction III) initially consists of 10.0 grams of each reactant, what would be the
limiting reactant?
a. both are limiting reactants b. there is no limiting reactant c. CH2O d. O2

m
er as
co
eH w
o.
rs e
7. When the above system (Reaction III) initially consists of 10.0 grams of each reactant, how many moles
ou urc
of CH2O would remain if all 10.0 grams of O2 reacted?
a. 0.02 moles b. 0.94 moles c. none d. 0.31 moles
o
aC s
vi y re

8. When the above system (Reaction III) initially consists of 10.0 grams of each reactant, what would be the
∆HRXN for the system when the reactants completely transform into products?
a. 28.5 kJ b. -28.5 kJ c. -89 kJ d. 89 kJ
ed d
ar stu
sh is

9. The activation energy (EA) of 170 kJ/mol is for the forward process of Reaction III. Assuming the
Th

reaction is a single step (elementary) reaction, what would the activation energy for the reverse process
be?
a. 285 kJ/mol b. 455 kJ/mol c. -170 kJ/mol d. 115 kJ/mol

10. Formaldehyde can be readily modified into the three molecules shown
to the right. Identify which would have a smaller molecular dipole
than formaldehyde?
a. 2 and 3 b. only 2 c. 1 and 2 d. 1 and 3

[Link]
 11. A PEC diagram for the solubility of the ionic compound K2CO3 in
methanol (M=mixed, UM=unmixed) is shown to the right. Which
statement(s) would be consistent with the observed solubility of potassium
carbonate in methanol?
a. Potassium and carbonate ions interact more strongly with each
other (ionic interactions) than with methanol molecules (solvation)
b. Potassium and carbonate ions interact more strongly with methanol molecules (solvation) than with
each other (ionic interactions)
c. Heating the solution would cause the solubility of K2CO3 to decrease
d. (a) and (c)

(Questions 12-14) O2 is an essential reactant for the combustion of methanol. Because O2 is only ~20% by
volume in normal air (air is mostly N2), pure NO2 is often used instead of air as illustrated in Reaction IV.
Reaction IV is NOT BALANCED - a,b,c,d, and e represent unknown stoichiometric coefficients.

m
Reaction IV a CH3OH (l) + b NO2 (g) ß à c CO2 (g) + d H2O (g) + e N2(g)

er as
ΔEP = -476 kJ / mol of CH3OH

co
eH w
o.
12. The stoichiometric coefficients a, b, and e when Reaction IV is balanced are?
a. a=4, b=5, e=2
rs e
b. a=3, b=4, e=6 c. a=1, b=2,e=3 d. a=4, b=6, e=3
ou urc
o
aC s
vi y re

13. When the above system (Reaction IV) initially consists of 12 moles of methanol (CH3OH) and an
unlimited amount of NO2, what is the maximum number of moles of H2O that could be produced?
a. 1 b. 6 c. 24 d. 12
ed d
ar stu
sh is
Th

14. When the above system (Reaction IV) initially consists of 8 moles of methanol (CH3OH) and 12 moles of
NO2, which substance would be the limiting reactant?
a. O2 b. there is no limiting reactant c. CH3OH d. NO2

[Link]
 (Questions 15-20) As catching on fire is expected with monster trucks, effective, fire
extinguishers are necessary. Traditionally, extinguishers have utilized various
haloalkanes – molecules exhibiting at least one carbon-halogen (e.g. chlorine,
bromine, fluorine, iodine) bond. Haloalkane functions as fire retardants by

decomposing into free radicals upon being heated as illustrated in Reaction Reaction V
V.

15. Reaction V can be described as:

a. an ionic reaction b. endothermic or exothermic, depending on T c. endothermic d. exothermic

16. Identify the statement below that best describes Reaction V in terms of activation energy (EA) and
configuration effectiveness (CE).
a. The forward process would be favored by EA, the reverse process favored by CE
b. The reverse process would be favored by EA, the forward process favored by CE

m
c. The forward process would be favored by both EA and CE

er as
d. The reverse process would be favored by both EA and CE

co
eH w
.

o.
rs e
17. Select the PEC diagram below that best describes the system of Reaction V.
ou urc
o
aC s
vi y re
ed d

18. Identify the statement below that best describes Reaction V when it reaches the state of dynamic
ar stu

equilibrium, i.e. the concentrations of both reactants and products no longer change in time.
a. the forward and reverse processes both occur at the same rate at equilibrium
b. at equilibrium for any reaction the concentration of reactants is zero
sh is

c. by the definition of equilibrium, the concentrations of reactants and products will be equal
d. the forward and reverse processes both stop at equilibrium
Th

19. For haloalkanes to function as fire retardants, the carbon-halogen bond must be broken as illustrated in
Reaction V. Which carbon-halogen bond would require the lowest input of energy to break?
a. C-I b. C-Br c. C-Cl d. C-F

20. The haloalkane CH2F2 has a higher boiling point than the haloalkane CF4. Why?
a. CH2F2 has more polar bonds b. CH2F2 has dipole-dipole forces
c. CH2F2 has greater dispersion forces d. CH2F2 can form H-bonds

[Link]
 (Questions 21-25) Some combustion processes involve nitric oxide reacting with components of air as shown
below in the submicroscopic representations of this chemical process occurring in a closed vessel

Ep

Nitrogen
R

Oxygen
P

Rxn progress

21. What is the balanced chemical reaction that is illustrated in the submicroscopic representation above?
a. N2 (g) + O2 (g) à 2 NO (g) b. 5 NO (g) + 3 N2 (g) + 2 O2 (g) à 4 NO2 (g) + 3 N2 (g)
c. O2 (g) + 2 NO (g) à 2 NO2 (g) d. NO (g) + N2 (g) à N2O (g)

m
er as
co
eH w
22. What is the limiting reactant for the reaction shown above?

o.
a. NO
rs e
b. NO2 c. N2 d. O2
ou urc
o

23. If the reaction above were carried out in a closed system (ex: a sealed vial) and at a constant
aC s

temperature, what would happen to the pressure inside the vial when the products are formed?
vi y re

a. pressure will increase because more products are produced

b. pressure will decrease because fewer molecules are present at the end of the reaction
c. pressure will remain the same because the temperature does not change
ed d

d. pressure will remain the same because the mass is conserved

ar stu
sh is

24. What effect would increasing temperature have on the extent of this reaction?
Th

a. activation energy would decrease, speeding up the reaction b. more products would be produced
c. the reaction would become more exothermic d. more reactants would be produced

25. If the initial reaction vessel was doubled in volume while keeping the number of particles the same as
shown above, what effect would this have on the rate of the forward reaction? (assume constant
temperature)
a. rate would stay the same because the initial number of particles does not change
b. rate would decrease because the activation energy would decrease
c. rate would increase because the collision effectiveness would increase
d. rate would decrease because the collision frequency would decrease
[Link]

Powered by TCPDF ([Link])