Question

an unknown compound contains only carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen combustion of 4.50 g of this compound produced 6.60 g of carbon dioxide and 2.70 g of water. How many moles of carbon, C, were in the original sample?

Answer 1

To find the number of moles of carbon (C) in the original sample, divide the mass of CO2 produced by the molar mass of CO2.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the number of moles of carbon (C) in the original sample, we need to compare the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) produced to the molecular ratio between carbon and carbon dioxide. From the balanced equation CxHy + O2 → CO2 + H2O, we can see that for each mole of CO2 produced, there is one mole of carbon in the original sample. The molar mass of CO2 is 44.01 g/mol, so we can calculate the moles of carbon by dividing the mass of CO2 produced (6.60 g) by the molar mass:

moles of C = mass of CO2 / molar mass of CO2

moles of C = 6.60 g / 44.01 g/mol

moles of C = 0.1498 mol