Vitamin C contains the elements C, H, and O. It is known to contain 40.9% C and 4.58% H by mass. The molar mass of vitamin C has been found to be about 180. The molecular formula for vitamin C is

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Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Vitamin C has a molar mass of 180 g/mol and contains 40.9% C and 4.58% H by mass. The remaining 54.52% must be O.To find the molecular formula, we need to determine the number of moles of each element present in 180 g of vitamin C.Number of moles of C = (40.9 g / 12.01 g/mol) = 3.41 molNumber of moles of H = (4.58 g / 1.01 g/mol) = 4.53 molNumber of moles of O = (54.52 g / 16.00 g/mol) = 3.41 molThe simplest whole-number ratio of these moles is 3:4:3, which gives the molecular formula C3H4O3.

Vitamin C Contains the Elements C, H, and O