To determine how many liters of oxygen (O₂) are required when 6.0 liters of carbon monoxide (CO) react at standard temperature and pressure (STP), we can follow these steps:
1. Identify the balanced chemical equation:
[tex]\[
2 \text{CO} (g) + \text{O}_2 (g) \rightarrow 2 \text{CO}_2 (g)
\][/tex]
2. Understand the volume ratio:
According to the balanced equation, 2 volumes of CO react with 1 volume of O₂ to produce 2 volumes of CO₂. This gives us a stoichiometric ratio of 2:1 between CO and O₂. That means for every 2 liters of CO, 1 liter of O₂ is required.
3. Set up the ratio using the given volume of CO:
Given that we have 6.0 liters of CO, we set up the ratio as follows:
[tex]\[
\frac{2 \text{ liters of CO}}{1 \text{ liter of O}_2}
\][/tex]
4. Calculate the volume of O₂ required:
Since the ratio is 2:1, we need to divide the volume of CO by 2 to find the corresponding volume of O₂:
[tex]\[
\text{Volume of O}_2 = \frac{6.0 \text{ liters of CO}}{2} = 3.0 \text{ liters of O}_2
\][/tex]
Therefore, 3.0 liters of oxygen (O₂) are required for the reaction.
