Lab Scenario D: Kostal & Stout students are in a competition to identify the reactants based on information they collected during a lab.
A metal was burned in a fire and light and heat were released. The crystals produced were identified as lithium oxide.
(2 points) Type of Reaction & Big Clue or Pattern:
(2 points) Balanced equation:
(2 points) Exothermic or Endothermic (include evidence from the scenario to support your answer):
(1 point) Activation Energy:
(1 point) Was a catalyst used (include evidence from the scenario to support your answer)?:

See explanation

Explanation:

A reaction in which heat and light are produced is a combustion reaction. Combustion is said to have occurred when a substance is burnt in oxygen.

The balanced equation of the reaction is;

4Li(s) + O2(g) >2Li2O(s)

This reaction is exothermic because heat was produced. The reaction has a low activation energy as the metal easily burst into flames in oxygen. A catalyst is not needed in this reaction because it has a low activation energy.

According to the law of conservation of mass. Atoms are neither created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction. What this means is that in a chemical reaction, the number of atoms of each element on the left hand side must be the same as the same as the number of atoms of the same element on the right hand side.