Question

0.5 g of an organic compound gives 1.46 g CO\(_2\) and 0.9 g H\(_2\)O. Find the percentage composition of carbon.

Hint:

To find the percentage of carbon in an organic compound, calculate the amount of carbon from CO\(_2\), and then divide by the total mass of the compound.

Answer 1

Given: - Mass of organic compound = 0.5 g - Mass of CO\(_2\) = 1.46 g - Mass of H\(_2\)O = 0.9 g To find the percentage composition of carbon, we first need to find the amount of carbon in CO\(_2\). - Moles of CO\(_2\): \[ \text{Moles of CO}_2 = \frac{1.46}{44} = 0.03318 \, \text{mol} \] Each mole of CO\(_2\) contains 1 mole of carbon, so: \[ \text{Moles of carbon} = 0.03318 \, \text{mol} \] Mass of carbon = \( 0.03318 \, \text{mol} \times 12 = 0.398 \, \text{g} \). Now, the percentage composition of carbon is: \[ \text{Percentage of carbon} = \frac{0.398}{0.5} \times 100 = 79.6\% \]