In March of 2007 a number of pets were sickened or killed by pet food contaminated with the chemical melamine which is used in the manufacture of certain plastics. It is thought that the melamine was added to make a pet food additive appear to have more protein than it really did. Melamine has the empirical formula CH₂N₂. If the molecular weight of melamine is 126.15 g/mol, what is its molecular formula?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The empirical formula mass of CH₂N₂ is 42.04 g/mol. Dividing the molecular weight (126.15 g/mol) by the empirical formula mass gives approximately 3, indicating the molecular formula is C₃H₆N₆.

In March of 2007 a Number of Pets Were Sickened