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A colorless liquid composed of 46.68% nitrogen and 53.32% oxygen has a molar mass of 58.12 g/mol.

determine how many moles of oxygen and nitrogen
determine the compound empirical formula
determine the molar mass of the empirical formula
determine the "n" value
determine the molecular formula

1 Answer

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Answer:

- The molecular formula of the compound is N1O1

- The empirical formula of the compound is therefore N1O1.01.

- Molar mass = 60.02 g/mol.

- "n" = 0.97/1 (rounded up)

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine how many moles of oxygen and nitrogen, we first need to calculate the number of moles of each element in the liquid using the percentage composition and the molar mass.

Nitrogen: 46.68 g of Nitrogen / (28.02 g/mol) = 1.66 moles of Nitrogen

Oxygen: 53.32 g of Oxygen / (32.00 g/mol) = 1.67 moles of Oxygen

To determine the compound empirical formula, we need to divide the number of moles of each element by the smallest number of moles among them. In this case, the smallest number of moles is 1.66 moles of Nitrogen. So, the empirical formula would be N:O = 1.66 : 1.67 = 1 : 1.01. The empirical formula of the compound is therefore N1O1.01.

The molar mass of the empirical formula is calculated by adding up the atomic masses of all the atoms in the formula: 28.02 g/mol (for nitrogen) + 32.00 g/mol (for oxygen) = 60.02 g/mol.

The "n" value in the molecular formula is a whole number that represents the multiple of the empirical formula. It can be calculated by dividing the molar mass of the compound (58.12 g/mol) by the molar mass of the empirical formula (60.02 g/mol): 58.12 g/mol / 60.02 g/mol = 0.97. Round up the result to the nearest whole number, which is 1.

The molecular formula of the compound is the empirical formula multiplied by the "n" value: N1O1.01 * 1 = N1O1.

So, the molecular formula of the compound is N1O1, meaning it contains one nitrogen atom and one oxygen atom.

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