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A certain compound is 66.7% carbon, 3.74% hydrogen, and 29.6% oxygen. Find the empirical formula.

User Perki
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Answer: C3H2O

Explanation: To find the empirical formula of the compound, we need to determine the simplest whole number ratio of atoms in the compound.

Assuming we have 100 g of the compound, we can convert the percentages to masses of each element:

Carbon: 66.7 g

Hydrogen: 3.74 g

Oxygen: 29.6 g

Next, we need to convert these masses to moles using the atomic masses:

Carbon: 66.7 g / 12.01 g/mol = 5.55 mol

Hydrogen: 3.74 g / 1.01 g/mol = 3.70 mol

Oxygen: 29.6 g / 16.00 g/mol = 1.85 mol

Now we need to divide each of these mole values by the smallest of the three:

Carbon: 5.55 mol / 1.85 mol = 3.00

Hydrogen: 3.70 mol / 1.85 mol = 2.00

Oxygen: 1.85 mol / 1.85 mol = 1.00

These ratios give us the empirical formula:

C3H2O

However, we can simplify this formula by dividing each subscript by 2:

C1.5H1O0.5

Finally, we can multiply through by 2 to get rid of the decimals:

C3H2O

User Tvl
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