Question

A 15. 20 g of nitrogen will react with 17. 37 g, 34. 74 g, or 43. 43 g of oxygen

to form three different compounds.

a)Calculate the mass of oxygen per gram of nitrogen in each compound.

b) How do the numbers in part (a) support the atomic theory?​

Answer 1

The mass of oxygen per gram of nitrogen in each compound is calculated by dividing the mass of oxygen by the mass of nitrogen. These calculations support the atomic theory because the resulting ratios are small whole numbers.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the mass of oxygen per gram of nitrogen in each compound, we need to determine the mass of oxygen in each compound and divide it by the mass of nitrogen.

For the compound formed with 17.37 g of oxygen, the mass of oxygen per gram of nitrogen is: 17.37 g/15.20 g = 1.143 g/g.

For the compound formed with 34.74 g of oxygen, the mass of oxygen per gram of nitrogen is: 34.74 g/15.20 g = 2.285 g/g.

For the compound formed with 43.43 g of oxygen, the mass of oxygen per gram of nitrogen is: 43.43 g/15.20 g = 2.856 g/g.

These numbers support the atomic theory because they show that the mass ratios of oxygen to nitrogen in each compound are small whole numbers. This is consistent with the law of multiple proportions, which states that when elements combine to form compounds, they do so in simple whole-number ratios.