Question

A 11.0g sample of a compound containing only oxygen and carbon produce 3.0g carbon and 8.0g oxygen. Determined the empirical formula of the compound?

Answer 1

Answer:

Empirical formula: CO₂

Explanation:

The empirical formula is defined as the simplest ratio of atoms present in a molecule. We must convert the mass of carbon and oxygen to moles as follows:

Carbon -Molar mass: 12.01g/mol-

3.0g * (1mol / 12.01g) = 0.250 moles C

Oxygen -Molar mass: 16g/mol-

8.0g * (1mol / 16g) = 0.50 moles O

The ratio of O:C is:

0.50mol / 0.250mol = 2

That means the empirical formula is:

CO₂