Multiple Choice
A 200.0 g sample of a compound contains 175.4 g of carbon and 24.54 g of hydrogen. What is the empirical formula of the compound?
3. Chemical Reactions
Empirical Formula
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A compound containing nitrogen and oxygen is decomposed in the laboratory and produces 1.78 g of nitrogen and 4.05 g of oxygen. Calculate the empirical formula of the compound.
A
N2O
B
NO
C
NO2
D
N2O3
Verified step by step guidance1
Step 1: Begin by determining the number of moles of nitrogen and oxygen produced. Use the molar mass of nitrogen (approximately 14.01 g/mol) and oxygen (approximately 16.00 g/mol) to convert the given masses to moles. Use the formula: \( \text{moles} = \frac{\text{mass}}{\text{molar mass}} \).
Step 2: Calculate the moles of nitrogen: \( \text{moles of } N = \frac{1.78 \text{ g}}{14.01 \text{ g/mol}} \).
Step 3: Calculate the moles of oxygen: \( \text{moles of } O = \frac{4.05 \text{ g}}{16.00 \text{ g/mol}} \).
Step 4: Determine the simplest whole number ratio of moles of nitrogen to moles of oxygen. Divide the moles of each element by the smallest number of moles calculated in the previous steps.
Step 5: Use the ratio from Step 4 to write the empirical formula of the compound. The empirical formula is the simplest whole number ratio of atoms in the compound.
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