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2 May, 01:15

What is the empirical formula of a substance that is 53.5% carbon (c), 15.5% hydrogen (h), and 31.1% nitrogen (n) by weight?

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Answers (2)
  1. 2 May, 03:19
    0
    Assuming 100 grams of the compound, we can convert the masses to the number of moles using the atomic masses:

    53.5 g * 1 mol C / 12.0107 g C = 4.45 mol C

    15.5 g * 1 mol H / 1.00794 g H = 15.38 mol H

    31.1 g * 1 mol N / 14.0067 g N = 2.22 mol N

    We divide the number of moles of each element by the lowest number of moles, in this case, we divide by 2.22:

    C 4.45/2.22 = 2.00

    H 15.38/2.22 = 6.93 ≈ 7

    N 2.22/2.22 = 1

    Therefore we can write the empirical formula using the number of moles calculated as the subscript for each element: C2H7N
  2. 2 May, 04:48
    0
    Empirical formula is the simplest ratio of whole numbers of components making up a compound.

    since percentage compositions have been given, we can calculate the masses of elements in 100 g of the compound

    carbon hydrogen nitrogen

    mass 53.5 g 15.5 g 31.1 g

    number of moles 53.5/12 15.5/1 31.1 / 14

    = 4.46 = 15.5 = 2.22

    divide by least number of moles

    4.46/2.22 = 2.0 15.5/2.22 = 6.9 2.22/2.22 = 1

    numbers rounded off

    C - 2

    H - 7

    N - 1

    Then empirical formula - C₂H₇N
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