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Ch.3 - Mass Relationships in Chemical Reactions
Chapter 3, Problem 123

Ethylene glycol, commonly used as automobile antifreeze, contains only carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Combustion analysis of a 23.46 mg sample yields 20.42 mg of H2O and 33.27 mg of CO2. What is the empirical formula of ethylene glycol? What is its molecular formula if it has a molecular weight of 62.0?

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Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Combustion Analysis

Combustion analysis is a technique used to determine the elemental composition of organic compounds. In this process, a sample is burned in excess oxygen, producing carbon dioxide and water. The masses of these products are measured, allowing for the calculation of the amounts of carbon, hydrogen, and sometimes oxygen in the original sample, which is essential for determining empirical formulas.
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Combustion of Non-Hydrocarbons

Empirical Formula

The empirical formula represents the simplest whole-number ratio of the elements in a compound. It is derived from the moles of each element calculated from the combustion analysis data. For ethylene glycol, the empirical formula can be determined by converting the mass of carbon and hydrogen obtained from the combustion products into moles and simplifying the ratio.
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Empirical vs Molecular Formula

Molecular Formula

The molecular formula indicates the actual number of atoms of each element in a molecule of a compound. It can be derived from the empirical formula by multiplying it by a whole number, which is determined by dividing the compound's molar mass by the molar mass of the empirical formula. In this case, knowing the molecular weight of ethylene glycol allows for the calculation of its molecular formula from the empirical formula.
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Related Practice
Textbook Question

Ammonium nitrate, a potential ingredient of terrorist bombs, can be made nonexplosive by addition of diammo-nium hydrogen phosphate, (NH4)2HPO4. Analysis of such a NH4NO3 - (NH4)2HPO4 mixture showed the mass percent of nitrogen to be 30.43%. What is the mass ratio of the two components in the mixture?

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Textbook Question
Window glass is typically made by mixing soda ash (Na2CO3), limestone (CaCO3), and silica sand (SiO2) and then heating to 1500 °C to drive off CO2 from the (Na2CO3) and CaCO3. The resultant glass consists of about 12% Na2O by mass, 13% CaO by mass, and 75% SiO2 by mass. How much of each reactant would you start with to prepare 0.35 kg of glass?
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Textbook Question
An unidentified metal M reacts with an unidentified halogen X to form a compound MX2. When heated, the compound decomposes by the reaction: When 1.12 g of MX2 is heated, 0.720 g of MX is obtained, along with 56.0 mL of X2 gas. Under the conditions used, 1.00 mol of the gas has a volume of 22.41 L. (a) What is the atomic weight and identity of the halogen X?
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Textbook Question

(a) Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were compounds used as coolants in transformers and capacitors, but their production was banned by the U.S. Congress in 1979 because they are highly toxic and persist in the environment. When 1.0 g of a PCB containing carbon, hydrogen, and chlorine was subjected to combustion analysis, 1.617 g of CO2. and 0.138 g of H2O were produced. What is the empirical formula?

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Textbook Question

(b) If the molecular weight is 326.26, what is the molecular formula?

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Textbook Question

(c) Can combustion analysis be used to determine the empirical formula of a compound containing carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and chlorine?

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