Questions: What is the empirical formula for a compound containing 38.8% carbon, 16.2% hydrogen, and 45.1% nitrogen? CH2 N C40 H16 N45 C3 H16 N3 CH5 N

Transcript text: What is the empirical formula for a compound containing $38.8 \%$ carbon, 16.2\% hydrogen, and $45.1 \%$ nitrogen? $\mathrm{CH}_{2} \mathrm{~N}$ $\mathrm{C}_{40} \mathrm{H}_{16} \mathrm{~N}_{45}$ $\mathrm{C}_{3} \mathrm{H}_{16} \mathrm{~N}_{3}$ $\mathrm{CH}_{5} \mathrm{~N}$

Solution

Solution Steps

Step 1: Convert Percentages to Grams

Assume we have 100 grams of the compound. This means we have:

38.8 grams of carbon
16.2 grams of hydrogen
45.1 grams of nitrogen

Step 2: Convert Grams to Moles

Use the molar mass of each element to convert grams to moles:

Carbon: $ \frac{38.8 \, \text{g}}{12.01 \, \text{g/mol}} = 3.2306 \, \text{mol} $
Hydrogen: $ \frac{16.2 \, \text{g}}{1.008 \, \text{g/mol}} = 16.0714 \, \text{mol} $
Nitrogen: $ \frac{45.1 \, \text{g}}{14.01 \, \text{g/mol}} = 3.2184 \, \text{mol} $

Step 3: Determine the Simplest Mole Ratio

Divide each mole value by the smallest number of moles calculated: