Determine the simplest whole number mole ratio of C,H and O in the unknown using

Question

Determine the simplest whole number mole ratio of C,H and O in the unknown using the 5 of 6 character format such as C2H30, C3H40, C2H3O2, etc. If a coefficent for a given element is 1, omit it from the empirical formula.

State the answer as CxHyOz - ?

Mass of O - 0.8246g Moles of O - 0.05

Moles of H atoms - 0.172 moles Moles of C atoms - 0.050   

Moles of H2O - 0.086 moles Moles of CO2 - 0.050

Compare the moles of C, moles of H and moles of O and determine which value is the smallest. Now take the moles of each atom (C, H, and O) and divide each by the smallest value. The whole number that you get for each atom will give you the empirical formula for catechol.

Explanation / Answer

Given :

Mass of O = 0.8246 g moles of O = 0.05

Moles of H = 0.172 moles , moles C= 0.050

We divide each of these moles by smallest number of moles.

Number of O = 0.05 / 0.05 = 1

Number of C = 0.05 / 0.05 = 1

Number of H = 0.172 / 0.05 = 3.44

We multiply all number of atoms by 2

Number of O = 2

Number of C = 2

Number of H = 6.89 = 7

So the Empirial formula is

C2H7O2

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