Question

An unknown powder has been found at a crime scene. It is your job to identify the chemical formula for the substance and its common or generic name by searching the internet. Preliminary tests reveal that the possible elements that can be in the material are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen. Complete combustion of a 1.6 g sample of the unknown powder with excess O2 produced 3.6665 g of CO 2, 1.1601 g of H2O, and 0.1061 g N2. The molar mass of the substance was found to be about 211 g/mol.

Answer 1

By analyzing the combustion products and the molar mass, we can determine the chemical formula and common name of the unknown powder. The compound is found to have the empirical formula CH3NO and the molecular formula C4H12N4O4, which is commonly known as Adenosine Tetraphosphate or ATP.

Step-by-step explanation:

By analyzing the combustion products and the molar mass, we can determine the chemical formula and common name of the unknown powder. From the given information, it is determined that the compound contains carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. Complete combustion of a 1.6 g sample of the unknown powder produced 3.6665 g of CO2, 1.1601 g of H2O, and 0.1061 g of N2. The molar mass of the substance is approximately 211 g/mol.

Using the mass ratios of the combustion products, we can calculate the moles of each element present in the compound. The molar ratios give the empirical formula CH3NO, which has a molar mass of 59 g/mol. To determine the molecular formula, we divide the molar mass of the compound by the empirical formula mass to get a whole number ratio. The molecular formula of the unknown powder is C4H12N4O4, which is commonly known as Adenosine Tetraphosphate or ATP.