A compound containing only carbon,hydrogen,and oxygen is subjected to elemental analysis.Upon complete combustion,a 0.7916-g sample of the compound produced 1.581 g of CO₂ and 0.6474 g of H₂O.What is the empirical formula of the compound? A)C₃H₆O₃ B)C₃H₃O C)C₂H₄O D)C₂H₂O E)CH₂O₃

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

First, we need to find the number of moles of each element in the sample:
moles of CO2 = 1.581 g / 44.01 g/mol = 0.0359 mol C
moles of H2O = 0.6474 g / 18.015 g/mol = 0.0359 mol H
moles of O2 = (0.7916 g - 1.581 g - 0.6474 g) / 32 g/mol = 0.0359 mol O

Next, we need to find the empirical formula by dividing the number of moles of each element by the smallest number of moles:
C: 0.0359 mol / 0.0359 mol = 1
H: 0.0359 mol / 0.0359 mol = 1
O: 0.0359 mol / 0.0359 mol = 1

Therefore, the empirical formula is CHO. However, we need to check if we can simplify this ratio further. The ratio of atoms is already in its simplest form, so the empirical formula is CHO.

Choice C is the only option that matches this empirical formula.

A Compound Containing Only Carbon,hydrogen,and Oxygen Is Subjected to Elemental