Question

Acetylene is used in oxyacetylene gas welding. Calculate the empirical formula for acetylene given its percent composition:

92.25% C and 7.75% H.

Answer 1

`CH`

Step-by-step explanation:

Hello!

In this case, given the percent composition of C and H in acetylene, in order to find its empirical formula we compute moles of C and H assuming those percentages as masses:

`n_C=92.25gC*(1molC)/(12.01gC) =7.68molH\\\\n_H=7.75gH*(1molH)/(1.01molH)=7.67molH`

Next, since they have the same number of moles we infer they are in a 1:1 subscript ratio on the empirical formula, where is therefore:

`CH`

Best regards!