Question

Calculation: If a compound is 14.40% hydrogen by mass and 85.60% carbon by mass, what is the empirical formula?Group of answer choicesCH3CHCH2CH4

Answer 1

Answer:

$C\text{ : CH}_2$

Explanation:

Here, we want to get the empirical formula of the compound

We start by dividing the given percentages by the atomic mass of the atoms

The atomic mass of hydrogen is 1 amu while the atomic mass of carbon is 12 amu

Thus, we have that as follows:

$\begin{gathered} H\text{ = }\frac{14.40}{1}\text{ = 14.40} \\ \\ C\text{ = }\frac{85.60}{12}\text{ = 7.133} \end{gathered}$

Now, we have to divide the obtained answers by the smalles value

We have that as:

$\begin{gathered} H\text{ = }\frac{14.40}{7.133}\text{ = 2} \\ \\ C\text{ = }\frac{7.133}{7.133}\text{ = 1} \end{gathered}$

Attaching the values as a subscript, we have the empirical formula as:

$CH_2$