Complete combustion of a sample of a hydrocarbon on excess oxygen produces equimolar quantities of carbon dioxide and water. Which of the following could be the molecular formula of the compound?

A. C2H2

B. C2H6

C. C4H8

D. C6H6

C. C4H8 Given that the number of moles of CO2 and H2O produced from the combustion are equal, that means for every carbon atom, there are 2 hydrogen atoms because CO2 has only 1 carbon atom and H2O has 2 hydrogen atoms. So let's look at the available choices and see which one is correct. A. C2H2 This is a 1 to 1 ratio of carbon to hydrogen. Wrong answer. B. C2H6 This is a 1 to 3 ratio of carbon to hydrogen. Wrong answer. C. C4H8 This is a 1 to 2 ratio of carbon to hydrogen. Correct answer. D. C6H6 This is a 1 to 1 ratio of carbon to hydrogen. Wrong answer.