To determine how many molecules of ammonia ([tex]\( NH_3 \)[/tex]) would be formed, let's first balance the given chemical equation:
[tex]\[ 3 \, H_2(g) + N_2(g) \rightarrow NH_3(g) \][/tex]
1. Count the number of atoms on both sides of the equation:
- On the left side (reactants), there are:
- 3 molecules of [tex]\( H_2 \)[/tex], contributing [tex]\( 3 \times 2 = 6 \)[/tex] hydrogen atoms.
- 1 molecule of [tex]\( N_2 \)[/tex], contributing [tex]\( 1 \times 2 = 2 \)[/tex] nitrogen atoms.
- On the right side (products), there is:
- 1 molecule of [tex]\( NH_3 \)[/tex], contributing 1 nitrogen atom and 3 hydrogen atoms.
2. Balance the nitrogen atoms:
- There are 2 nitrogen atoms on the left and only 1 on the right. Therefore, we need to have 2 molecules of [tex]\( NH_3 \)[/tex], which will make [tex]\( 2 \times 1 = 2 \)[/tex] nitrogen atoms.
[tex]\[ 3 \, H_2(g) + N_2(g) \rightarrow 2 \, NH_3(g) \][/tex]
3. Check the hydrogen atoms:
- On the left side, we still have 6 hydrogen atoms (from [tex]\( 3 \, H_2 \)[/tex]).
- On the right side, with 2 molecules of [tex]\( NH_3 \)[/tex], we have [tex]\( 2 \times 3 = 6 \)[/tex] hydrogen atoms.
Now the equation is balanced:
[tex]\[ 3 \, H_2(g) + N_2(g) \rightarrow 2 \, NH_3(g) \][/tex]
From the balanced equation, it is clear that when 3 molecules of hydrogen ([tex]\( H_2 \)[/tex]) react with 1 molecule of nitrogen ([tex]\( N_2 \)[/tex]), they produce 2 molecules of ammonia ([tex]\( NH_3 \)[/tex]).
Thus, the number of ammonia molecules formed is 2.
Therefore, the correct answer is:
2
