A propane grill produced 1.5 kg of carbon dioxide (CO2). What is the mass of carbon atoms produced?

To determine the mass of carbon atoms produced from the combustion of propane that results in 1.5 kg of carbon dioxide (CO2), we need to analyze the composition of CO2. Each molecule of carbon dioxide contains one atom of carbon. Therefore, we first need to find out how many moles of CO2 are in 1.5 kg.

The molecular weight of carbon dioxide (CO2) is approximately 44 g/mol (12 g/mol for carbon and 32 g/mol for two oxygen atoms). Converting 1.5 kg to grams gives us 1500 g. We can find the number of moles of CO2 produced by dividing the mass of CO2 by its molar mass:

[ \text{Moles of CO2} = \frac{1500, \text{g}}{44, \text{g/mol}} \approx 34.09, \text{mol} ]

Since each mole of CO2 contains one mole of carbon, the number of moles of carbon produced is also approximately 34.09 mol. Now we can calculate the mass of carbon by multiplying the number of moles of carbon by the molar mass of carbon, which is about 12 g