Question

Oxalic Acid, a compound found in plants and vegetables such as rhubarb, has a mass percent composition of 26.7% C, 2.24% H, and 71.1% O. Oxalic acid can interfere with respiration and cause kidney or bladder stones. If a large quantity of rhubarb leaves is ingested, the oxalic acid can be toxic. The lethal dose (LD50) in rats for oxalic acid is 375 mg/kg. Rhubarb leaves contain about 0.5% by mass of oxalic acid. (Show your work, using the insert equation tool :) What is the empirical formula of oxalic acid

Answer 1

HCO₂

Step-by-step explanation:

From the information given:

The mass of the elements are:

Carbon C = 26.7 g; Hydrogen H = 2.24 g Oxygen O = 71.1 g

To determine the empirical formula;

First thing is to find the numbers of moles of each atom.

For Carbon:

`=26.7 \ g* (1 \ mol )/(12.01 \ g) \\ \\ =2.22 \ mol \ of \ Carbon`

For Hydrogen:

`=2.24 \ g* (1 \ mol )/(1.008 \ g) \\ \\ =2.22 \ mol \ of \ Hydrogen`

For Oxygen:

`=71.1 \ g* (1 \ mol )/(1.008 \ g) \\ \\ =4.44 \ mol \ of \ oxygen`

Now; we use the smallest no of moles to divide the respective moles from above.

For carbon:

`(2.22 \ mol \ of \ carbon)/(2.22) =1 \ mol \ of \ carbon`

For Hydrogen:

`(2.22 \ mol \ of \ carbon)/(2.22) =1 \ mol \ of \ hydrogen`

For Oxygen:

`(4.44 \ mol \ of \ Oxygen)/(2.22) =2 \ mol \ of \ oxygen`

Thus, the empirical formula is HCO₂