2.4g of a compound of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen gave on combustion, 3.52g of CO2 and 1.44g of H2O. The relative molecular mass of the compound was found to be 60.

a)What are the masses of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen in 2.4g of the compound?

b)What are the emperical and molecular formulae of the compound?

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To solve this problem, we need to follow these steps:

Step 1: Calculate the moles of CO2 and H2O produced.
Step 2: Calculate the moles of carbon and hydrogen in the compound.
Step 3: Deduce the moles of oxygen in the compound.
Step 4: Convert the moles of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen to their respective masses.
Step 5: Determine the empirical formula.
Step 6: Calculate the molecular formula.

Let's begin with step 1:

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

Molar mass of CO2 = 12.01 g/mol (C) + 2 * 16.00 g/mol (O) = 44.01 g/mol
Moles of CO2 = 3.52 g / 44.01 g/mol = 0.08 mol

Molar mass of H2O = 2 * 1.01 g/mol (H) + 16.00 g/mol (O) = 18.02 g/mol
Moles of H2O = 1.44 g / 18.02 g/mol = 0.08 mol

Now, let's move on to step 2:

Step 2: Calculate the moles of carbon and hydrogen in the compound.

From the balanced combustion equation:
CxHy + (x + y/4) O2 → x CO2 + y/2 H2O

We can see that for every 1 mol of CO2 produced, there must be 1 mol of carbon in the compound.
Therefore, the moles of carbon in the compound = moles of CO2 = 0.08 mol.

Similarly, for every 1 mol of H2O produced, there are 2 moles of hydrogen in the compound.
Therefore, the moles of hydrogen in the compound = (moles of H2O) * 2 = 0.08 mol * 2 = 0.16 mol.

Moving on to step 3:

Step 3: Deduce the moles of oxygen in the compound.

Let's calculate the moles of oxygen in the compound:
Moles of oxygen in the compound = Moles of CO2 + (0.5 * Moles of H2O)
Moles of oxygen in the compound = 0.08 mol + (0.5 * 0.08 mol) = 0.08 mol + 0.04 mol = 0.12 mol

Now, let's continue to step 4:

Step 4: Convert the moles of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen to their respective masses.

Mass of carbon = Moles of carbon * Molar mass of carbon
Mass of carbon = 0.08 mol * 12.01 g/mol = 0.96 g

Mass of hydrogen = Moles of hydrogen * Molar mass of hydrogen
Mass of hydrogen = 0.16 mol * 1.01 g/mol = 0.16 g

Mass of oxygen = Moles of oxygen * Molar mass of oxygen
Mass of oxygen = 0.12 mol * 16.00 g/mol = 1.92 g

Now we have the masses of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Moving on to step 5:

Step 5: Determine the empirical formula.

To determine the empirical formula, we need to find the ratio of the number of moles or masses of the elements in the compound.
The empirical formula represents the simplest whole-number ratio of the atoms present in the compound.

Divide the masses by the molar mass of each element:
Carbon: 0.96 g / 12.01 g/mol = 0.08 mol
Hydrogen: 0.16 g / 1.01 g/mol = 0.16 mol
Oxygen: 1.92 g / 16.00 g/mol = 0.12 mol

To get whole-number ratios, we can divide each value by the smallest mole value (in this case, 0.08 mol):
Carbon: 0.08 mol / 0.08 mol = 1
Hydrogen: 0.16 mol / 0.08 mol = 2
Oxygen: 0.12 mol / 0.08 mol = 1.5 (approximately)

Multiply by 2 to get whole-number ratios:
Carbon: 1 * 2 = 2
Hydrogen: 2 * 2 = 4
Oxygen: 1.5 * 2 = 3 (approximately)

Therefore, the empirical formula of the compound is C2H4O3.

Lastly, let's move to step 6:

Step 6: Calculate the molecular formula.

To calculate the molecular formula, we need to know the relative molecular mass of the compound. In this case, it is given as 60 g/mol.

Calculate the empirical formula mass:
Empirical formula mass = (2 * molar mass of carbon) + (4 * molar mass of hydrogen) + (3 * molar mass of oxygen)
Empirical formula mass = (2 * 12.01 g/mol) + (4 * 1.01 g/mol) + (3 * 16.00 g/mol)
Empirical formula mass = 24.02 g/mol + 4.04 g/mol + 48.00 g/mol
Empirical formula mass = 76.06 g/mol

To find the molecular formula from the empirical formula, we divide the relative molecular mass by the empirical formula mass and multiply each element by the result:
Molecular formula = Empirical formula * (Relative molecular mass / Empirical formula mass)
Molecular formula = C2H4O3 * (60 g/mol / 76.06 g/mol)

Finally, simplify the molecular formula if possible.

Therefore, the molecular formula of the compound is C3H6O6.

To find the masses of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen in 2.4g of the compound, we'll need to use the given data.

a) Mass of CO2 produced:
The molar mass of CO2 is 44 g/mol. Therefore, the moles of CO2 produced can be calculated as:
moles of CO2 = mass of CO2 / molar mass of CO2 = 3.52g / 44g/mol = 0.08 mol CO2

Since there is a 1:1 molar ratio between carbon and CO2, the moles of carbon in the compound will also be 0.08 mol.

The molar mass of carbon is 12 g/mol. Hence, the mass of carbon in 2.4g of the compound can be calculated as:
mass of carbon = moles of carbon × molar mass of carbon = 0.08mol × 12g/mol = 0.96g

Next, let's calculate the moles of H2O produced:
The molar mass of H2O is 18 g/mol. Therefore, the moles of H2O produced can be calculated as:
moles of H2O = mass of H2O / molar mass of H2O = 1.44g / 18g/mol = 0.08 mol H2O

Since there is a 2:1 molar ratio between hydrogen and H2O, the moles of hydrogen in the compound will be twice the moles of H2O, which is:
moles of hydrogen = 2 × moles of H2O = 2 × 0.08 mol = 0.16 mol

The molar mass of hydrogen is 1 g/mol. Hence, the mass of hydrogen in 2.4g of the compound can be calculated as:
mass of hydrogen = moles of hydrogen × molar mass of hydrogen = 0.16mol × 1g/mol = 0.16g

Finally, to find the mass of oxygen in 2.4g of the compound, we subtract the masses of carbon and hydrogen from the total mass of the compound:
mass of oxygen = total mass - (mass of carbon + mass of hydrogen) = 2.4g - (0.96g + 0.16g) = 1.28g

Therefore, the masses of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen in 2.4g of the compound are 0.96g, 0.16g, and 1.28g, respectively.

b) To find the empirical formula of the compound, we need to determine the simplest whole-number ratio of atoms present.

From the masses we calculated, we can convert them into moles:
moles of carbon = 0.96g / 12g/mol = 0.08 mol
moles of hydrogen = 0.16g / 1g/mol = 0.16 mol
moles of oxygen = 1.28g / 16g/mol = 0.08 mol

Since the moles of carbon and oxygen are both 0.08, the empirical formula will be C1H2O1.

To find the molecular formula, we need to compare the empirical formula mass (EFM) with the given relative molecular mass (RMM).

The empirical formula mass is calculated as follows:
EFM = (moles of carbon × molar mass of carbon) + (moles of hydrogen × molar mass of hydrogen) + (moles of oxygen × molar mass of oxygen)
= (0.08 mol × 12 g/mol) + (0.16 mol × 1 g/mol) + (0.08 mol × 16 g/mol)
= 0.96g + 0.16g + 1.28g
= 2.4g

Since the given relative molecular mass of the compound is 60, we can find the ratio of RMM to EFM:
n = RMM / EFM = 60 / 2.4 = 25

Therefore, the molecular formula will be the empirical formula multiplied by n:
Molecular formula = C1H2O1 × 25 = C25H50O25