one moles of a compound containing only carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen was burned in the presence of excess oxygen to give 264g of CO2, 63 g of H20, and 46 g of NO2. Calculate the molecular formula of the compound.

Use the first to determine the moles of C, the second the moles of H, and then to determine the moles of N, use the last data.

The mole ratio you get from the moles of C, H, N is the empirical formula.

To determine the molecular formula of the compound, we need to find the empirical formula first. The empirical formula gives the simplest whole-number ratio of the atoms present in the compound.

We know that the compound contains only carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and nitrogen (N). Let's determine the number of moles of each element in the given information:

1) Moles of Carbon (C):
The molar mass of CO2 is 44 g/mol (12 g/mol for carbon + 2 * 16 g/mol for oxygen). From the given information, we have 264 g of CO2. Using the molar mass, we can calculate the moles of carbon in that amount of CO2:

moles of C = (mass of CO2 / molar mass of CO2) = 264 g / 44 g/mol = 6 moles of C

2) Moles of Hydrogen (H):
The molar mass of H2O is 18 g/mol (2 * 1 g/mol for hydrogen + 16 g/mol for oxygen). From the given information, we have 63 g of H2O. Using the molar mass, we can calculate the moles of hydrogen in that amount of H2O:

moles of H = (mass of H2O / molar mass of H2O) = 63 g / 18 g/mol = 3.5 moles of H

3) Moles of Nitrogen (N):
The molar mass of NO2 is 46 g/mol (14 g/mol for nitrogen + 2 * 16 g/mol for oxygen). From the given information, we have 46 g of NO2. Using the molar mass, we can calculate the moles of nitrogen in that amount of NO2:

moles of N = (mass of NO2 / molar mass of NO2) = 46 g / 46 g/mol = 1 mole of N

Now we need to find the simplest whole-number ratio of the atoms. Let's divide the number of moles of each element by the smallest number of moles (in this case, 1 mole of nitrogen):

C: 6 moles / 1 mole = 6
H: 3.5 moles / 1 mole = 3.5
N: 1 mole / 1 mole = 1

The ratios are approximately 6:3.5:1. To simplify these ratios, we can multiply all numbers by 2 to obtain whole numbers:

C: 6 * 2 = 12
H: 3.5 * 2 = 7
N: 1 * 2 = 2

So, the empirical formula of the compound is C12H7N2.

To find the molecular formula, we need additional information about the molar mass of the compound. If you have that information, please provide it, and I can help you determine the molecular formula.