Answer: The empirical formula for the given compound is
Explanation:
The chemical equation for the combustion of compound having carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen follows:
where, 'x', 'y' and 'z' are the subscripts of carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen respectively.
We are given:
Mass of
Mass of
We know that:
Molar mass of carbon dioxide = 44 g/mol
Molar mass of water = 18 g/mol
For calculating the mass of carbon:
In 44 g of carbon dioxide, 12 g of carbon is contained.
So, in 21363 g of carbon dioxide, of carbon will be contained.
For calculating the mass of hydrogen:
In 18 g of water, 2 g of hydrogen is contained.
So, in 6125 g of water, of hydrogen will be contained.
Now we have to calculate the mass of nitrogen.
Mass of nitrogen in the compound = (7875) - (5826.27 + 680.55) = 1368.18 g
To formulate the empirical formula, we need to follow some steps:
Step 1: Converting the given masses into moles.
Moles of Carbon =
Moles of Hydrogen =
Moles of Nitrogen =
Step 2: Calculating the mole ratio of the given elements.
For the mole ratio, we divide each value of the moles by the smallest number of moles calculated which is 0.0154 moles.
For Carbon =
For Hydrogen =
For Nitrogen =
Step 3: Taking the mole ratio as their subscripts.
The ratio of C : H : N = 5 : 7 : 1
Hence, the empirical formula for the given compound nicotine is