Final answer:
To find the empirical formula of an organic compound from its combustion, calculate the moles of carbon from CO₂ and hydrogen from H₂O, normalize them to the smallest whole number ratio, and then deduce oxygen's proportion by difference.
Step-by-step explanation:
To determine the empirical formula of an organic compound from its combustion products, you must first calculate the molar amounts of carbon and hydrogen using the provided masses of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and water (H₂O). For the given organic compound, we have 1.190 g of CO₂ and 0.3248 g of H₂O formed upon combustion.
From the mass of CO₂, the moles of carbon can be determined, knowing that the molar mass of CO₂ is 44.01 g/mol. The mass of carbon in CO₂ can be converted to moles by dividing by the molar mass of carbon, which is 12.01 g/mol. Similarly, from the mass of H₂O, the moles of hydrogen can be found by considering the molar mass of H₂O, which is 18.02 g/mol, and knowing that each mole of water has 2 moles of hydrogen.
Once you have the moles of carbon and hydrogen, calculate the empirical formula by normalizing these values to the smallest whole number ratio. Oxygen's contribution can be deduced by difference from the original compound's mass. The calculation aligns with the previous chapter on empirical formulas described in the text.