Office for Climate Education
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Burning methane and CO₂ emissions

3ème (Grade 9)Seconde (Grade 10)50 minEnglish

Submitted by Camille Démo ✓, Collège Jean-Moulin, Paris · published on September 17, 2026

Balance the equation for the combustion of methane and calculate the mass of CO₂ produced by gas heating.

Exercise

Natural gas is made up mainly of methane (CH4).

  1. Write and balance the equation for the complete combustion of methane in oxygen.

  2. A home uses 800 kg of methane a year for heating. Calculate the corresponding amount of substance (M(CH4) = 16 g/mol).

  3. Deduce the amount of substance, then the mass, of CO2 released (M(CO2) = 44 g/mol).

  4. Suggest two ways of reducing these emissions.

Show the answer key

  1. CH4 + 2 O2 → CO2 + 2 H2O

  2. n = 800,000 / 16 = 50,000 mol

  3. n(CO2) = n(CH4) = 50,000 mol; m = 50,000 × 44 = 2,200,000 g = 2.2 tonnes of CO2.

  4. Insulating the home, a heat pump, lowering the thermostat setting.

Show the 2 quiz questions

Multiple-choice questions about the climate topic of this exercise. Mark the exercise as done with a class to add them to that class's quiz.

  1. What is produced by the complete combustion of methane?

    • A. Carbon dioxide and water ✓
    • B. Oxygen and carbon
    • C. Nitrogen and water
    • D. Only heat

  2. True or false: for the same amount, methane warms the atmosphere more than CO₂.

    • A. True ✓
    • B. False

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