Question

What is the molecular formula of a compound that contains 10.0g carbon, 1.68g hydrogen, and 13.4g oxygen

Answer 1

The molecular formula of a compound containing 10.0g carbon, 1.68g hydrogen, and 13.4g oxygen is CH2O, which is determined by calculating the moles of each element and simplifying their mole ratio.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the molecular formula of the compound containing 10.0g carbon, 1.68g hydrogen, and 13.4g oxygen, we first determine the moles of each element and then their mole ratio. By dividing the mass of each element by its respective atomic mass (C=12.01, H=1.008, O=16.00), we get:

• Carbon: 10.0g / 12.01g/mol = 0.833 moles
• Hydrogen: 1.68g / 1.008g/mol = 1.667 moles
• Oxygen: 13.4g / 16.00g/mol = 0.838 moles

To simplify the mole ratio, we divide by the smallest number of moles obtained, which in this case is 0.833:

• Carbon: 0.833 / 0.833 = 1
• Hydrogen: 1.667 / 0.833 = 2
• Oxygen: 0.838 / 0.833 = 1

Thus, the empirical formula based on the simplified mole ratio is CH2O. If additional information such as the molar mass of the compound was given, we could also determine the molecular formula.

Answer 2

CH2O

Step-by-step explanation:

(view this on a laptop to avoid the spacing problems)

We can draw a chart to solve this:

Carbon Hydrogen Oxygen

mass(g) 10.0 1.68 13.4

no. of moles 10/12 = 0.83333 1.68/1 = 1.68 13.4/16=0.8375

ratio 0.83333/0.83333=1 1.68/0.8333≈2 0.8375/0.83333≈1

(divide by the smallest no. of mole- which is carbon)

Therefore, the molecular formula is CH2O.