Thermo Chemistry?

Question

If you start with 85.9 g of sodium sulfate and 13.9 g carbon, calculate the maximum mass of sodium sulfide that could be

Na2SO4(s) + 4C(s) Na2S(s) + 4CO(g)
This is the question and I have no idea what to do and I need to know how to do this question in order to answer 2 other questions.

Answer 1

This is a standard "limiting reagent" problem. You'll need to do two sets of calculations. Starting with the 85.9 grams of Na2SO4, first calculate its molar mass, and then calculate the number of moles that you are starting with. Since 1 mole of Sodium sulfate will give you one mole of Na2S, you can then use the molar mass of Na2S to calculate the mass formed.

Then, work the problem again, starting with the 13.9 grams of carbon. Convert that into moles, and then divide that by 4 to get the possible moles of Na2S. Finally convert that number of moles to grams using the molar mass of Na2S.

The reactant which forms the smallest mass of Na2S is the limiting reactant. The maximum mass of sodium sulfide possible is the SMALLER of the two masses of Na2S that you calculated.

Answer 2

OMG!