10. A sample of a hydrocarbon was analyzed and found to contain 12.59g of carbon and 1.41g of hydrogen a the empirical formula of the compound. (As the masses are known you do not need to assume you have a 100

The answer to your question is C₃ H₄

Explanation:

Data

mass of Carbon = 12.59 g

mass of Hydrogen = 1.41 g

Process

1.- Convert the mass to moles

-Carbon

Atomic mass = 12 g

                                12 g of C 1 mol

                                 12.59 g of C x

                                  x = (12.59 x 1) / 12

                                  x = 1.05 moles of C

-Hydrogen

Atomic mass = 1.008

                               1.008 g of H 1 mol

                                1.41 g of H     x

                                 x = (1.41 x 1) / 1.008

                                 x = 1.399 moles of H

2.- Divide by the lowest number of moles

Hydrogen = 1.399/1.05 = 1.33

Carbon = 1.05/1.05 = 1

3.- Write the empirical formula

                                  C₁ H ₁.₃₃ ≈  3 x C₁ H ₁.₃₃  = C₃ H₄

c. 4.54 x 10–12 j happens to be correct