Question

If the combustion of fossil fuels adds about 5 x 1012 kg of carbon to the atmosphere as CO2 each year, how much oxygen is required to produce this amount of carbon dioxide?

Answer 1

Hello!

The general chemical reaction for the combustion of a fossil fuel is the following one:

C(s) + O₂(g) → CO₂(g)

Now, we use the following conversion factor to go from kilograms of CO₂ to kilograms of O₂, using the molar masses of each compound and the reaction coefficients:

$5*10^{12} kg CO_2* \frac{1000g}{1 kg}* \frac{1 molCO_2}{44,01 g CO_2}* \frac{1 mol O_2}{1 mol CO_2}* \frac{32gO_2}{1molO_2}* \frac{1kg}{1000g} \\ \\ = 3,64*10^{12}kgO_2$

So, for producing 5*10¹² kg of CO₂, 3,64*10¹² kg of O₂ are required. 

Have a nice day!