The standard reaction between sodium sulfite and oxygen shows that each part of oxygen requires "about" how many parts of sodium sulfite?

The standard reaction between sodium sulfite (Na2SO3) and oxygen (O2) involves redox chemistry where sodium sulfite is oxidized to sodium sulfate (Na2SO4). In this reaction, the relationship between sodium sulfite and oxygen can be determined by the stoichiometry of the balanced chemical equation.

The balanced reaction can be described as follows:

[ 2 \text{Na}_2\text{SO}_3 + \text{O}_2 \rightarrow 2 \text{Na}_2\text{SO}_4 ]

From this equation, you can see that it takes one mole of O2 to react with two moles of Na2SO3. This means that for every part of oxygen consumed, two parts of sodium sulfite are required. However, it's essential to read the question carefully regarding the approximation, which states "about how many parts of sodium sulfite."

When calculating the parts of sodium sulfite needed per part of oxygen, we find that two parts of sodium sulfite are required for one part of oxygen. Since sodium sulfite is typically mentioned in a molar basis, doubling the stoichiometric factor shows it takes about four parts of sodium sulfite. Therefore, if we