Question

A sample of chemical X is found to contain 5.0 grams of oxygen, 10.0 grams of carbon, and 20.0 grams of nitrogen. The law of definite proportion would predict that a 61 gram sample of chemical X should contain how many grams of carbon?

Answer 1

18g C

Step-by-step explanation:

A sample of chemical X is found to contain 5.0 grams of oxygen, 10.0 grams of carbon, and 20.0 grams of nitrogen. The mass of that sample is:

5.0 g + 10.0 g + 20.0 g = 35.0 g

The ratio mC/mX is:

`(mC)/(mX) =(10.0gC)/(35.0gX) =(0.29gC)/(1gX)`

According to the law of definite proportion, this ratio is constant for the same chemical. For a sample of 61 g of X,

`61gX.(0.29gC)/(1gX)=18gC`