Calculating Moles of Sodium

Oct 13, 2025 by wbrum.org 31 views

Introduction

Sodium (Na) is a highly reactive metal that readily reacts with water to produce hydrogen gas and sodium hydroxide. This reaction is highly exothermic, releasing a significant amount of heat energy. In this article, we will explore the chemical equation for this reaction and calculate the mass of hydrogen gas produced when 4.6 g of sodium is used.

Chemical Equation

The balanced chemical equation for the reaction between sodium and water is:

${ 2 \text{Na}(s) + 2 \text{H}_2\text{O}(l) \rightarrow 2 \text{NaOH}(aq) + \text{H}_2(g) }$

In this equation, 2 moles of sodium react with 2 moles of water to produce 2 moles of sodium hydroxide and 1 mole of hydrogen gas.

Calculating Moles of Sodium

To calculate the mass of hydrogen gas produced, we first need to calculate the number of moles of sodium used. The molar mass of sodium is 22.99 g/mol.

# Define variables mass_sodium = 4.6 # in grams molar_mass_sodium = 22.99 # in g/mol

moles_sodium = mass_sodium / molar_mass_sodium

Calculating Moles of Hydrogen Gas

From the balanced chemical equation, we can see that 2 moles of sodium produce 1 mole of hydrogen gas. Therefore, the number of moles of hydrogen gas produced is half the number of moles of sodium used.

# Calculate moles of hydrogen gas
moles_hydrogen = moles_sodium / 2

Calculating Mass of Hydrogen Gas

The molar mass of hydrogen gas is 2.02 g/mol. We can calculate the mass of hydrogen gas produced by multiplying the number of moles of hydrogen gas by its molar mass.

# Define variable molar_mass_hydrogen = 2.02 # in g/mol

mass_hydrogen = moles_hydrogen * molar_mass_hydrogen

Results

The mass of hydrogen gas produced when 4.6 g of sodium is used is:

Q: What is the chemical equation for the reaction between sodium and water?

A: The balanced chemical equation for the reaction between sodium and water is:

${ 2 \text{Na}(s) + 2 \text{H}_2\text{O}(l) \rightarrow 2 \text{NaOH}(aq) + \text{H}_2(g) }$

Q: What is the molar mass of sodium?

A: The molar mass of sodium is 22.99 g/mol.

Q: How many moles of sodium are used in the reaction?

A: To calculate the number of moles of sodium used, we need to divide the mass of sodium used (4.6 g) by the molar mass of sodium (22.99 g/mol).

# Define variables mass_sodium = 4.6 # in grams molar_mass_sodium = 22.99 # in g/mol

moles_sodium = mass_sodium / molar_mass_sodium

Q: How many moles of hydrogen gas are produced in the reaction?

A: From the balanced chemical equation, we can see that 2 moles of sodium produce 1 mole of hydrogen gas. Therefore, the number of moles of hydrogen gas produced is half the number of moles of sodium used.

# Calculate moles of hydrogen gas
moles_hydrogen = moles_sodium / 2

Q: What is the molar mass of hydrogen gas?

A: The molar mass of hydrogen gas is 2.02 g/mol.

Q: How many grams of hydrogen gas are produced in the reaction?

A: To calculate the mass of hydrogen gas produced, we need to multiply the number of moles of hydrogen gas by its molar mass.

# Define variable molar_mass_hydrogen = 2.02 # in g/mol

mass_hydrogen = moles_hydrogen * molar_mass_hydrogen

Q: What is the final answer?

A: The mass of hydrogen gas produced when 4.6 g of sodium is used is:

Mass of Hydrogen Gas: ****_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**_**__**