<span>Carbon can also bond with other
four atoms because of its outer shell (valence shell) that has four electrons.
This is the reason why organic molecules can be so large because of this
bonding. Suppose you have a compound of CCl4. You know that chlorine can only
share 1 electron because 7 of its electrons are filled. Also, in carbon, it can
only share 4 electrons because 4 of it are already filled. That is why carbon
needs four chlorine to form CCl4. The answer is letter <u>B.</u></span>
A normal carbon atom has 6 electrons
As with most stoichiometry problems, it is necessary to work in moles. The ratio of the moles of each element will provide the ratio of the atoms of each element.
Get the mass of each element by assuming a certain overall mass for the sample (100 g is a good mass to assume when working with percentages).
Remeber that percentages are a ratio multiplied by 100. You must convert percentages back to their decimal value before working with them.
(.4838) (100 g) = 48.38 g C
(.0812 ) (100 g) = 8.12 g H
(.5350) (100 g) = 53.38 g O
Convert the mass of each element to moles of each element using the atomic masses.
(48.38 g C) (1 mol/ 12.10 g C) = 4.028 mol C
(8.12 g H) (1 mol/ 1.008 g H) = 8.056 mol H
(53.38 g O) (1 mol/ 16.00 g O) = 3.336 mol O
Find the ratio or the moles of each element by dividing the number of moles of each by the smallest number of moles.
Use the mole ratio to write the empirical formula.
I believe the answer is carbon atoms
