Combustion analysis of an unknown compound containing only carbon and hydrogen

produced 2.277 g of CO2 and 1.161 g of H2O. What is the empirical formula of the compound?

How do I go about solving this?

Convert g CO2 to percent C.

Convert g H2O to percent H.

Now take a 100 g sample and you have the percents converted to grams.
Calculate moles C
Calculate moles H.
Find the ratio of the smallest to the largest in small whole numbers.

Well, solving this problem is a piece of cake! All you have to do is follow a few steps.

Step 1: Calculate the number of moles of CO2 and H2O produced.

To do this, you need to divide the mass of each compound by their respective molar masses. The molar mass of CO2 is 44 g/mol, and the molar mass of H2O is 18 g/mol.

For CO2:
moles of CO2 = mass of CO2 / molar mass of CO2
moles of CO2 = 2.277 g / 44 g/mol

For H2O:
moles of H2O = mass of H2O / molar mass of H2O
moles of H2O = 1.161 g / 18 g/mol

Step 2: Find the ratio of carbon to hydrogen.

Since the compound contains only carbon and hydrogen, the ratio of carbon to hydrogen can be determined by comparing the moles of CO2 and H2O.

For every mole of CO2 produced, one mole of carbon is present. This means the number of moles of carbon is the same as the moles of CO2.

Similarly, for every two moles of H2O produced, one mole of hydrogen is present. So, the number of moles of hydrogen is half the moles of H2O.

Step 3: Calculate the empirical formula.

To find the empirical formula, divide the number of moles of carbon and hydrogen by the smallest value.

Empirical formula: C: H

And voila! You have yourself the empirical formula of the unknown compound. Happy chemistrating! Or should I say, "Che-mystery solving"! Ha-ha!

To find the empirical formula of the compound, we need to determine the ratio of carbon atoms to hydrogen atoms in the compound.

Step 1: Convert the mass of CO2 to moles of carbon.
- The molar mass of CO2 is 44.01 g/mol.
- The mass of CO2 produced is 2.277 g.
- Convert the mass to moles using the formula: moles = mass/molar mass.
Moles of carbon = 2.277 g / 44.01 g/mol = 0.0518 mol.

Step 2: Convert the mass of H2O to moles of hydrogen.
- The molar mass of H2O is 18.02 g/mol.
- The mass of H2O produced is 1.161 g.
- Convert the mass to moles using the formula: moles = mass/molar mass.
Moles of hydrogen = 1.161 g / 18.02 g/mol = 0.0644 mol.

Step 3: Determine the ratio of carbon to hydrogen.
- Divide the number of moles of carbon by the number of moles of hydrogen.
Ratio = Moles of carbon / Moles of hydrogen = 0.0518 mol / 0.0644 mol ≈ 0.805.

Step 4: Find the simplest whole-number ratio of carbon to hydrogen.
- Multiply both the ratio of carbon to hydrogen by a common number to make it a whole number.
Multiply by 5 to get a simple whole-number ratio: 0.805 x 5 ≈ 4.
Ratio = 4:5.

Step 5: Write the empirical formula.
- Write the empirical formula using the ratio obtained.
The empirical formula is CH4.

Therefore, the empirical formula of the compound is CH4, which represents one carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms.

To determine the empirical formula of the compound, you need to calculate the ratio of carbon to hydrogen atoms in the molecule.

Let's start by converting the masses of CO2 and H2O into moles. To do this, we need to know the molar mass of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and water:

- The molar mass of carbon (C) is 12.01 g/mol.
- The molar mass of hydrogen (H) is 1.01 g/mol.
- The molar mass of oxygen (O) is 16.00 g/mol.
- Water (H2O) has a molar mass of 18.02 g/mol.

1. Calculating the moles of CO2:
- Moles of CO2 = mass of CO2 / molar mass of CO2
- Moles of CO2 = 2.277 g / (12.01 g/mol + 2 * 16.00 g/mol)
- Moles of CO2 ≈ 0.086 mol

2. Calculating the moles of H2O:
- Moles of H2O = mass of H2O / molar mass of H2O
- Moles of H2O = 1.161 g / 18.02 g/mol
- Moles of H2O ≈ 0.064 mol

Next, we need to find the simplest whole number ratio between the moles of carbon and hydrogen to find the empirical formula.

3. Divide the moles of carbon and hydrogen by the smaller value:
- Carbon atoms = Moles of CO2 / 0.064 mol
- Hydrogen atoms = Moles of H2O / 0.064 mol

4. Round the number of carbon and hydrogen atoms to the nearest whole number:

Let's calculate the number of carbon atoms:
- Carbon atoms = 0.086 mol / 0.064 mol
- Carbon atoms ≈ 1.34

Rounded to the nearest whole number, we get 1 carbon atom.

Now let's calculate the number of hydrogen atoms:
- Hydrogen atoms = 0.064 mol / 0.064 mol
- Hydrogen atoms ≈ 1.00

Rounded to the nearest whole number, we get 1 hydrogen atom.

The empirical formula is CH, indicating that the compound contains one carbon atom and one hydrogen atom.