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Epoxythane is used to manufacture car antifreeze - Leaving Cert Chemistry - Question i - 2018

Question i

Epoxythane is used to manufacture car antifreeze. It is composed of 54.5% carbon, 9.1% hydrogen and 36.4% oxygen by mass. Find the empirical formula of epoxythane.

Worked Solution & Example Answer:Epoxythane is used to manufacture car antifreeze - Leaving Cert Chemistry - Question i - 2018

Step 1

Calculate Moles of Each Element

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Answer

To find the empirical formula, we first need to determine the number of moles of each element present in the compound. We use the molar masses of the elements: carbon (C) = 12 g/mol, hydrogen (H) = 1 g/mol, and oxygen (O) = 16 g/mol.

For Carbon:

[ \frac{54.5 \text{ g}}{12 \text{ g/mol}} = 4.54 \text{ mol} ]
For Hydrogen:

[ \frac{9.1 \text{ g}}{1 \text{ g/mol}} = 9.1 \text{ mol} ]
For Oxygen:

[ \frac{36.4 \text{ g}}{16 \text{ g/mol}} = 2.275 \text{ mol} ]

Step 2

Determine the Simplest Ratio

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Answer

Next, we will divide the number of moles of each element by the smallest number of moles calculated:

For Carbon:

[ \frac{4.54}{2.275} = 2 ]
For Hydrogen:

[ \frac{9.1}{2.275} = 4 ]
For Oxygen:

[ \frac{2.275}{2.275} = 1 ]

Step 3

Write the Empirical Formula

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Answer

Finally, we can write the empirical formula based on the simplest ratio of the moles:

The empirical formula of epoxythane is ( C_2H_4O ).

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