Final answer:
The mass ratio of element X to element Y is 5:1, calculated by dividing the mass of X (10 g) by the mass of Y (2 g). This ratio contributes to understanding the composition of compounds in accordance with the law of multiple proportions.
Step-by-step explanation:
Calculation of Mass Ratio
To find the mass ratio of element X to element Y in a compound, simply divide the mass of X by the mass of Y. The mass of X is given as 10 g, and the mass of Y is 2 g. Therefore, the mass ratio of X to Y is calculated by dividing 10 g by 2 g, which yields a ratio of 5:1. This means that for every 1 gram of Y, there are 5 grams of X.
The concept of mass ratio is important as it relates to the concepts of the law of definite proportions and the law of multiple proportions, which are fundamental to the understanding of chemical compounds and their compositions.
Law of Multiple Proportions
If we take the example provided for compound X and compound Y, with their respective masses of carbon and hydrogen, we can analyze these to determine if they represent the law of multiple proportions. The mass ratios of carbon to hydrogen for compound X is 14.13 g:2.96 g and for compound Y is 19.91 g:3.34 g. From this, we can deduce that compounds X and Y have different simple whole-number ratios of carbon to hydrogen and thus can be considered different compounds obeying the law of multiple proportions.