Question

10. A sample of a hydrocarbon was analyzed and found to contain 12.59g of carbon and 1.41g of hydrogen a the empirical formula of the compound. (As the masses are known you do not need to assume you have a 100

Answer 1

The answer to your question is C₃ H₄

Step-by-step explanation:

Data

mass of Carbon = 12.59 g

mass of Hydrogen = 1.41 g

Process

1.- Convert the mass to moles

-Carbon

Atomic mass = 12 g

12 g of C ---------------- 1 mol

12.59 g of C ----------- x

x = (12.59 x 1) / 12

x = 1.05 moles of C

-Hydrogen

Atomic mass = 1.008

1.008 g of H --------------- 1 mol

1.41 g of H --------------- x

x = (1.41 x 1) / 1.008

x = 1.399 moles of H

2.- Divide by the lowest number of moles

Hydrogen = 1.399/1.05 = 1.33

Carbon = 1.05/1.05 = 1

3.- Write the empirical formula

C₁ H ₁.₃₃ ≈ 3 x C₁ H ₁.₃₃ = C₃ H₄