Questions: This is the chemical formula for acetic acid (the chemical that gives the sharp taste to vinegar): CH3CO2H An analytical chemist has determined by measurements that there are 8.40 moles of carbon in a sample of acetic acid. How many moles of oxygen are in the sample? Be sure your answer has the correct number of significant digits.

This is the chemical formula for acetic acid (the chemical that gives the sharp taste to vinegar):
CH3CO2H

An analytical chemist has determined by measurements that there are 8.40 moles of carbon in a sample of acetic acid. How many moles of oxygen are in the sample?
Be sure your answer has the correct number of significant digits.

Transcript text: This is the chemical formula for acetic acid (the chemical that gives the sharp taste to vinegar): \[ \mathrm{CH}_{3} \mathrm{CO}_{2} \mathrm{H} \] An analytical chemist has determined by measurements that there are 8.40 moles of carbon in a sample of acetic acid. How many moles of oxygen are in the sample? Be sure your answer has the correct number of significant digits.

Solution

Solution Steps

Step 1: Identify the given information

The chemical formula for acetic acid is \( \text{CH}_3\text{COOH} \). The problem states that there are 8.40 moles of carbon in a sample of acetic acid.

Step 2: Determine the number of moles of acetic acid

Each molecule of acetic acid (\( \text{CH}_3\text{COOH} \)) contains 2 carbon atoms. Therefore, the number of moles of acetic acid is half the number of moles of carbon.

\[ \text{Moles of acetic acid} = \frac{\text{Moles of carbon}}{2} = \frac{8.40}{2} = 4.20 \]

Step 3: Calculate the number of moles of oxygen

Each molecule of acetic acid contains 2 oxygen atoms. Therefore, the number of moles of oxygen is twice the number of moles of acetic acid.

\[ \text{Moles of oxygen} = 2 \times \text{Moles of acetic acid} = 2 \times 4.20 = 8.40 \]