a .6800g sample of carboxylic acid is burned in oxygen, producing 1.212 g of CO2 and .4991 g of H2O. determine the empirical formula of the carboxylic acid

To determine the empirical formula of the carboxylic acid, we need to find the moles of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen present in the given masses of CO2 and H2O. Here's how you can calculate it step-by-step:

Step 1: Calculate the moles of CO2:
- The molar mass of CO2 = 12.01 g/mol (C) + 2 * 16.00 g/mol (O) = 44.01 g/mol
- Moles of CO2 = mass of CO2 / molar mass of CO2
= 1.212 g / 44.01 g/mol

Step 2: Calculate the moles of H2O:
- The molar mass of H2O = 2 * 1.01 g/mol (H) + 16.00 g/mol (O) = 18.02 g/mol
- Moles of H2O = mass of H2O / molar mass of H2O
= 0.4991 g / 18.02 g/mol

Step 3: Determine the moles of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen:
Since CO2 contains one carbon atom and H2O contains two hydrogen atoms, the total moles of carbon and hydrogen in the carboxylic acid can be calculated as follows:

Moles of carbon = Moles of CO2
Moles of hydrogen = 2 * Moles of H2O

Step 4: Determine the moles of oxygen:
To calculate the moles of oxygen, we need to subtract the moles of carbon and hydrogen from the total moles obtained from the combustion of the carboxylic acid.

Moles of oxygen = Total moles - Moles of carbon - Moles of hydrogen

Step 5: Calculate the empirical formula:
Divide each of the moles by the smallest value among them to obtain the simplest whole number ratio of the atoms.

Once you have the moles of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, divide each value by the smallest value obtained. The resulting ratios can give us the empirical formula of the carboxylic acid.

Please provide the moles obtained from Step 3 and Step 4 so that we can proceed with the calculations.

To determine the empirical formula of the carboxylic acid, you need to find the molar ratios between the elements present in the given compounds. Follow these steps:

Step 1: Convert the given masses to moles.
- Convert the mass of CO2 to moles:
Molar mass of CO2 = 12.01 g/mol (C) + 2 * 16.00 g/mol (O) = 44.01 g/mol
Moles of CO2 = mass of CO2 / molar mass of CO2 = 1.212 g / 44.01 g/mol = 0.0276 mol

- Convert the mass of H2O to moles:
Molar mass of H2O = 2 * 1.01 g/mol (H) + 16.00 g/mol (O) = 18.02 g/mol
Moles of H2O = mass of H2O / molar mass of H2O = 0.4991 g / 18.02 g/mol = 0.0277 mol

Step 2: Determine the ratio between the moles of carbon and oxygen.
In the combustion reaction of carboxylic acid, the carbon atoms present in the acid react with oxygen to form CO2. Since the molar ratio between carbon and oxygen in CO2 is 1:2, we can conclude that 0.0276 mol of CO2 corresponds to 0.0276 mol of carbon.

Step 3: Determine the ratio between the moles of hydrogen and oxygen.
In the reaction, the hydrogen atoms present in the acid react with oxygen to form H2O. Since the molar ratio between hydrogen and oxygen in H2O is 2:1, we can conclude that 0.0277 mol of H2O corresponds to 0.0554 mol of hydrogen.

Step 4: Determine the empirical formula.
The empirical formula shows the simplest whole number ratio of atoms in a compound.
The empirical formula of the carboxylic acid can be written as CH2O because the ratio of the moles of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen is 1:2:1.

Therefore, the empirical formula of the carboxylic acid is CH2O.

You have a way to find C and H; the only way to find O is to convert CO2 to C, convert H2O to H, then subtract the sum of C and H from the sample mass to find grams oxygen.

g C = 1.212 x (atomic mass C/molasr mss CO2) = estimated 0.33
g H = 0.4991 x (2*atomic mass H/molar mass H2O) = estimated 0.055
g O = 0.68-gC-gH = estimated 0.3

Convert grams to mols.
C = grams/12 = est 0.27
H = 0.055/1 = about 0.055
O = 0.3/16 = about 0.018

Then find the ratio of these numbers to each other.
I found C = 1.5
H = 3
O = 1 and these are clearly in the ratio of
C = 3, H = 6, O = 2.
That fits for CH3CH2COOH
(Carboxylic acids are R-COOH and the R in this case is CH3CH2.)