The reaction of 15 moles carbon with 30 moles O2 will result in a theoretical yield of moles CO2.

Answer: The balanced chemical equation for the reaction between carbon (C) and oxygen (O2) to form carbon dioxide (CO2) is:

C + O2 → CO2

In this equation, the coefficients indicate the mole ratio in which the substances react. Here, the ratio is 1:1:1 for carbon to oxygen to carbon dioxide. This means that one mole of carbon reacts with one mole of oxygen to produce one mole of carbon dioxide.

You have stated that you're starting with 15 moles of carbon and 30 moles of O2. According to the balanced equation, 15 moles of carbon would require 15 moles of O2 to fully react and form CO2. Because you have more than enough oxygen (30 moles of O2), oxygen is in excess, and carbon is the limiting reactant.

Since carbon is limiting, only 15 moles of it can react, forming 15 moles of CO2 as per the 1:1 ratio from the balanced equation. Therefore, the theoretical yield of CO2 from the reaction of 15 moles of carbon with excess oxygen (30 moles of O2) is 15 moles of CO2.

Extra: In the context of chemical reactions, it's crucial to understand the concepts of stoichiometry to predict the amount of product formed. Stoichiometry is the study of quantitative relationships between the amounts of reactants used and products formed in a chemical reaction, based on the balanced chemical equation. The limiting reactant (or limiting reagent) is the substance that is totally consumed when the chemical reaction is complete. Once the limiting reactant is used up, no more product can form, and any other reactants present are in excess. The theoretical yield is the maximum amount of product that can be produced from a given amount of reactants if the reaction goes to completion under ideal conditions without any loss or side reactions. It's important to identify the limiting reactant to correctly calculate the theoretical yield, as we've done in this example. Additionally, in a stoichiometric calculation, it is also essential that the chemical equation is balanced so that the principle of conservation of mass is respected, which means atoms are neither created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction.