Final answer:
The calculated ratios of oxygen to tin for compounds A and B support the law of multiple proportions, as they show the different masses of oxygen combine with a fixed mass of tin in a simple whole number ratio; in this case, the ratio is about 2:1.
Step-by-step explanation:
To demonstrate that the given masses of tin and oxygen in two compounds are in agreement with the law of multiple proportions, we need to calculate the ratio of the masses of oxygen that combine with a fixed mass of tin in both compounds.
For compound A, which consists of 0.742 g of tin and 0.100 g of oxygen, the mass ratio of oxygen to tin is obtained by dividing the mass of oxygen by the mass of tin:
0.100 g O / 0.742 g Sn = 0.1347
For compound B, with 0.555 g of tin and 0.150 g of oxygen, the mass ratio of oxygen to tin is:
0.150 g O / 0.555 g Sn = 0.2703
Next, to find the simplest whole number ratio between these two ratios, we divide the larger ratio by the smaller ratio:
0.2703 / 0.1347 = 2.006
The result is approximately 2, which suggests that when the same amount of tin combines with oxygen to form two different compounds, the amount of oxygen is in a simple whole number ratio. In this case, for every gram of tin, compound B has approximately twice the amount of oxygen as compound A. This observation is consistent with the law of multiple proportions, which states that when two elements form more than one compound, the different masses of one element combined with the same fixed mass of the other element are in the ratio of small whole numbers.