You are a forensic scientist. You are investigating a murder involving poison. The victim was poisoned with a compound called di-chlorobenzene, whose formula is C6H4Cl2. Autopsy results show that the victim’s body contained about 27.5 g of the poison, but the actual amount could have been slightly higher due to tissue absorption. The main suspect is his wife, Suzanne, who works as a chemistry professor. Records show that she purchased 15 g of benzene (C6H6) two days before the murder. Benzene is one of the compounds used to make the poison. She claims she was using it to make methyl benzene (C6H5CH3), an innocuous compound, for use in her lab. She shows you the bottle of methyl benzene she claims to have made. It contains 25 g of methyl benzene.

Chemistry: The Molecular Science
5th Edition
ISBN:9781285199047
Author:John W. Moore, Conrad L. Stanitski
Publisher:John W. Moore, Conrad L. Stanitski
Chapter10: Fuels, Organic Chemicals, And Polymers
Section10.1: Petroleum
Problem 10.1E: Heptane, C7H16, can be catalytically reformed to make toluene, C6H5CH3, another seven-carbon...
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  1. You are a forensic scientist. You are investigating a murder involving poison. The victim was poisoned with a compound called di-chlorobenzene, whose formula is C6H4Cl2. Autopsy results show that the victim’s body contained about 27.5 g of the poison, but the actual amount could have been slightly higher due to tissue absorption. The main suspect is his wife, Suzanne, who works as a chemistry professor. Records show that she purchased 15 g of benzene (C6H6) two days before the murder. Benzene is one of the compounds used to make the poison. She claims she was using it to make methyl benzene (C6H5CH3), an innocuous compound, for use in her lab. She shows you the bottle of methyl benzene she claims to have made. It contains 25 g of methyl benzene.

To produce di-chlorobenzene, the reaction is:      

Cl2(g)  +  C6H6(l) ⟶⟶ C6H4Cl2(l) + H2(g)

To produce methyl benzene, the reaction is:         

CH4(g) + C6H6(l) ⟶⟶ C6H5CH3(l) + H2(g)

 

Use stoichiometry to solve this case. Be sure to show all your work and explain whether the results show the wife to be innocent or a murderer. Is she telling the truth?

  1. Calculate the mass of methyl benzene that can be made from 15 g of benzene
  2. Calculate the mass of chlorobenzene that can be made from 15 g of benzene.
  3. If you can show that it is possible to produce 25 g of methyl benzene from 15 g of benzene, then she was telling the truth.
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