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Chapter 1: Problem 53

When you eat sugar \(\left(\mathrm{C}_{12} \mathrm{H}_{22} \mathrm{O}_{11}\right)\), it is eventually converted into \(\mathrm{CO}_{2}\) and \(\mathrm{H}_{2} \mathrm{O}\), which you exhale. If you exhale onto a cold window, the window fogs up. (a) What chemical change is being mentioned here? (b) What physical change is being mentioned here? (c) \(\mathrm{CO}_{2}\) is a solid that sublimes at \(-78^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\). Temperatures on planet Earth almost never get this cold. What does that tell you about the fog on the window?

Short Answer

Expert verified
(a) The chemical change mentioned is the conversion of sugar (C12H22O11) into carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O) due to metabolism and cellular respiration. (b) The physical change mentioned is the fogging up of the cold window due to the condensation of water vapor in the exhaled breath, forming tiny water droplets on the window. (c) The fog on the window is primarily formed by the condensation of water vapor (H2O) in the exhaled breath, not the sublimation of CO2, since Earth's temperatures rarely reach -78°C.

Step by step solution

01

(a) Identifying chemical change

The chemical change mentioned here is the conversion of sugar (C12H22O11) into carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O). This occurs in the body as a result of metabolism and cellular respiration, wherein the body breaks down sugar molecules in order to release energy.
02

(b) Identifying physical change

The physical change being mentioned is the fogging up of the cold window when exhaled breath, which contains CO2 and H2O, comes into contact with it. The warm, moist breath cools down when it meets the cold surface, causing the water vapor in the breath to condense into tiny water droplets that form fog on the window.
03

(c) Understanding the relationship between CO2 and fog on the window

CO2 is a solid that sublimes at -78°C, meaning that it turns directly from a solid to a gas without passing through the liquid state. The fog on the cold window is not due to the presence of solid CO2, since temperatures on Earth rarely reach -78°C. Instead, the fog is primarily formed by the condensation of water vapor (H2O) present in the exhaled breath. This tells us that the fog on the window is mainly due to the physical change of water vapor into liquid droplets, not the sublimation of CO2.

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