Question

A compound contains carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen. Analysis of a sample showed that it contained by mass 68.9% carbon and 4.92% hydrogen. What is the simplest formula for this compound?

A. C₆H₆O₂
B. C₇H₆O₂
C. C₈H₆O₂
D. C₆H₄O₃
E. C₇H₈O

Answer 1

The simplest formula for the compound is CH.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the simplest formula of the compound, we need to find the whole-number ratio of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms. We can start by assuming we have 100 grams of the compound. From the given information, we know that it contains 68.9 grams of carbon and 4.92 grams of hydrogen.

Next, we can convert these masses into moles by dividing by the molar masses of carbon and hydrogen (12.01 g/mol and 1.01 g/mol, respectively). This gives us approximately 5.74 moles of carbon and 4.88 moles of hydrogen.

To find the empirical formula, we divide the number of moles by the smallest number of moles (in this case, hydrogen) to get a ratio of approximately 1:1. Therefore, the empirical formula of the compound is CH.