Question

When carbon and oxygen react, two different compounds can form depending on the conditions. Compound A contains 1.333 g of oxygen per gram of carbon, whereas compound B contains 2.666 g of oxygen per gram of carbon.

a) Does this observation illustrate the law of conservation of mass or the law of multiple proportions?

Answer 1

The observation that different amounts of oxygen can combine with a fixed amount of carbon to form two distinct compounds illustrates the law of multiple proportions, exemplified by carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO₂).

Step-by-step explanation:

When carbon and oxygen react to form two different compounds with varying amounts of oxygen per gram of carbon, this observation illustrates the law of multiple proportions. The first compound (A) has a mass ratio of oxygen to carbon of 1.333 to 1, and the second compound (B) has a mass ratio of 2.666 to 1.

This ratio of 1:2 perfectly fits the law of multiple proportions, which states that when two elements form more than one compound, the masses of one element that combine with a fixed mass which are of in the small whole numbers ratio.

Therefore, compounds A and B could be carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO₂), respectively, since CO has half as much oxygen per amount of carbon compared to CO₂.