Combustion analysis problems and answers

Combustion analysis worksheet answers. Combustion analysis problems. Combustion analysis example problem. Combustion analysis example.

Combustion Analysis Problem Answers for Problems 1, 2, and 3 Problem #1: 0.487 grams of quinine (molar mass = 324 g/mol) is combusted and found to produce 1.321 g CO2, 0.325 g H2O and 0.0421 g nitrogen. Determine the empirical and molecular formulas. Solution: Carbon: 1.321 g x (12.011 ÷ 44.0098) = 0.3605 g Hydrogen: 0.325 g x (2.016
÷ 18.0152) = 0.0364 g Nitrogen: 0.0421 g given in problem Oxygen: 0.487 - (0.3605 + 0.0364 + 0.0421) = 0.0480 g Carbon: 0.3605 g ÷ 12.011 g/mol = 0.030 mol Hydrogen: 0.0364 g ÷ 1.008 g/mol = 0.036 mol Nitrogen: 0.0421 g ÷ 14.007 g/mol = 0.003 mol Oxygen: 0.0480 g ÷ 15.999 g/mol = 0.003 mol Carbon: 0.030 ÷ 0.003 = 10 Hydrogen:
0.036 ÷ 0.003 = 12 Nitrogen: 0.003 ÷ 0.003 = 1 Oxygen: 0.003 ÷ 0.003 = 1 The empirical formula is C10H12NO, with an "EFW" of 162. This gives a scaling factor of 2, so the molecular formula is C20H24N2O2. Problem #2: 95.6 mg of menthol (molar mass = 156 g/mol) are burned in oxygen gas to give 269 mg CO2 and 110 mg H2O. What is
menthol's empirical formula?

Solution: Carbon: 269 mg x (12.011 ÷ 44.0098) = 73.4 mg Hydrogen: 110 mg x (2.016 ÷ 18.0152) = 12.31 mg Oxygen: 95.6 - (73.4 + 12.31) = 9.88 mg Carbon: 73.4 mg ÷ 12.011 mg/mmol = 6.11 mmol Hydrogen: 12.31 mg ÷ 1.008 mg/mmol = 12.21 mmol Oxygen: 9.88 mg ÷ 15.999 mg/mmol = 0.617 mmol Carbon: 6.11 ÷ 0.617 = 9.9 Hydrogen:
12.21 ÷ 0.617 = 19.8 Oxygen: 0.617 ÷ 0.617 = 1 If we round off these values, we get an empirical formula of C10H20O. However, were we correct to round the values off? For that, let us turn to the "EFW." If it equals the molar mass (or requires a whole number scaling factor), then we are justified in rounding off.
The "EFW" equals 156, which is the molar mass, so the rounding off is shown to be valid.
Problem #3: 0.1005 g of menthol is combusted, producing 0.2829 g of CO2 and 0.1159 g of H2O. What is menthol's empirical formula? (Yes, the answer will be the same as #2. Just do the calculations. OK?) Solution: Carbon: 0.2829 g x (12.011 ÷ 44.0098) = 0.07721 g Hydrogen: 0.1159 g x (2.016 ÷ 18.0152) = 0.01297 g Oxygen: 0.1005 - (0.07721 +
0.01297) = 0.01032 g Carbon: 0.07721 g ÷ 12.011 g/mol = 0.006428 mol Hydrogen: 0.01297 g ÷ 1.008 g/mol = 0.01287 mol Oxygen: 0.01032 g ÷ 15.999 g/mol = 0.0006452 mol Carbon: 0.006428 mol ÷ 0.0006452 mol = 9.96 Hydrogen: 0.01287 mol ÷ 0.0006452 mol = 19.94 Oxygen: 0.0006452 mol ÷ 0.0006452 mol = 1 Rounding off gives an
empirical formula of C10H20O. Note that the same answer is arrived at in two different experiments. This is the way of science: to be able to carry out an experiment many times, under as similar conditions as possible. No value is accepted in science until it has been verified by multiple experiments and published in peer-reviewed journals with full
details for examination by the entire scientific community. Go to Ten Examples Go to a discussion of empirical and molecular formulas. Return to Mole Table of Contents Problem #1: 0.487 grams of quinine (molar mass = 324 g/mol) is combusted and found to produce 1.321 g CO2, 0.325 g H2O and 0.0421 g nitrogen. Determine the empirical and
molecular formulas. Problem #2: 95.6 mg of menthol (molar mass = 156 g/mol) are burned in oxygen gas to give 269 mg CO2 and 110 mg H2O. What is menthol's empirical formula? Problem #3: 0.1005 g of menthol is combusted, producing 0.2829 g of CO2 and 0.1159 g of H2O. What is menthol's empirical formula? (Yes, the answer will be the same
as #12.) Go to answers for 1, 2, and 3 Problem #4: The combustion of 40.10 g of a compound which contains only C, H, Cl and O yields 58.57 g of CO2 and 14.98 g of H2O. Another sample of the compound with a mass of 75.00 g is found to contain 22.06 g of Cl. What is the empirical formula of the compound? Solution #1: 1) Get grams of each
element: Carbon: (58.57 g) (12.011 / 44.009) = 15.985 g of C in 40.10 g sample Hydrogen: (14.98 g) (2.016 / 18.015) = 1.6764 g of H in 40.10 g sample Oxygen: we leave this to later (see below for an interesting solution path that involves determining the mass of oxygen.) Chlorine: problem gives 22.06 g in 75.00 g sample 2) Let us determine the
percent composition: Carbon: 15.985 g / 40.10 g = 39.86% Hydrogen: 1.6764 g / 40.10 = 4.18% Chlorine: 22.06 / 75.00 = 29.41% Oxygen: 100% − (39.86 + 4.18 +2 9.41) = 26.55% 3) Let us assume 100 g of the compound. In which case, the percentages above become grams. Now, let us determine the moles of each (I'll skip typing the calcs): C: 3.32
mol H: 4.147 mol O: 1.66 mol Cl: 0.83 mol 4) Divide each by 0.83 C: 4 H: 5 O: 2 Cl: 1 The empirical formula is C4H5ClO2 Solution #2: 1) Determine mass of all four compounds in the 40.10 g sample: Carbon: 15.985 g Hydrogen: 1.676 g Here comes the interesting way that is different from solution #1: Chlorine: (40.10 g) (22.06 g Cl / 75.00 g sample)
= 11.795 g Oxygen: 40.10 g − 15.985 g − 1.676 g − 11.795 g = 10.644 g Pretty slick, heh? Notice how the oxygen is determined by subtraction after everything else is calculated. This is a common pattern in combustion analysis. 2) Determine the moles of each (I'll skip typing the calcs): C = 1.331 mol H = 1.663 mol Cl = 0.3327 mol O = 0.6653 mol
Note that there is no need to assume 100 g of the compound and work from the percent composition. 3) Divide all by the smallest to simplify: C = 4 H = 5 Cl = 1 O = 2 The empirical formula is C4H5ClO2 Problem #5: The combustion of 1.38 grams of a compound which contains C, H, O and N yields 1.72 grams of CO2 and 1.18 grams of H2O. Another
sample of the compound with a mass of 22.34 grams is found to contain 6.75 grams of O. What is the empirical formula of the compound? 1) Calculate grams of C and H: carbon: (1.72 g) (12.011 / 44.009) = 0.4694 g of C hydrogen: (1.18 g) (2.016 / 18.015) = 0.13205 g of H oxygen: see next step nitrogen: see next step 2) Calculate mass percent of
each element: carbon: 0.4694 g / 1.38 g = 34.01% hydrogen: 0.13205 g / 1.38 g = 9.57% oxygen: 6.75 g / 22.34 g = 30.215% nitrogen: 100 − (34.01 + 9.57 + 30.215) = 26.205% 3) Assume 100 g of compound present. Therefore: carbon: 34.01 g hydrogen: 9.57 g oxygen: 30.215 g nitrogen: 26.205 g 4) Calculate moles: carbon: 34.01 g / 12.011 g/mol
= 2.832 hydrogen: 9.57 g / 1.008 g/mol = 9.494 oxygen: 30.215 g / 16.00 g/mol = 1.888 nitrogen: 20.205 g / 14.007 g/mol = 1.871 5) Look for smallest, whole-number ratio: carbon: 2.832 / 1.871 = 1.5 (x 2 = 3) hydrogen: 9.494 / 1.871 = 5 (x 2 = 10) oxygen: 1.888 / 1.871 = 1 (x 2 = 1) nitrogen: 1.871 / 1.871 = 1 (x 2 = 2) 6) Empirical formula:
C3H10N2O2 Problem #6: The combustion of 3.42 g of a compound is known to contain only nitrogen and hydrogen gave 9.82 g of NO2 and 3.85 g of water. Determine the empirical formula of this compound. Solution: 1) Calculate moles of N and moles of H in the combustion products: Moles N 9.82 g NO2 / 46.0 g/mol = 0.213 mol NO2 (0.213 mol
NO2) (1 mol N / 1 mol NO2) = 0.213 mol N Moles H 3.85 g H2O / 18.0 g/mol = 0.213 mol H2O (0.213 mol H2O) (2 mol H / 1 mol H2O ) = 0.428 mol H 2) Calculate the ratio of moles by dividing both by the smaller: N ---> 0.213 / 0.213 = 1 H ---> 0.428 / 0.213 = 2 The empirical formula is NH2 Problem #7: A compound with a known molecular weight
(146.99 g/mol) that contains only C, H, and Cl was studied by combustion analysis. When a 0.367 g sample was combusted, 0.659 g of CO2 and 0.0892 g of H2O formed. What are the empirical and molecular formulas? Solution: 1) Carbon: 0.659 g of CO2 has 0.659 / 44 = 0.0150 moles of CO2 there is 1 mole of C in CO2 and all the C from the
compound becomes CO2, so moles of C in the compound = 0.0150 moles mass of C = 0.0150 x 12 = 0.1797 g 2) Hydrogen: 0.089 g of H2O has 0.0892 / 18 = 0.0050 moles of H2O there are 2 moles of H in H2O, so moles of H in the compound = 0.0099 moles mass of H = 0.0099 x 1.0079 = 0.0100 g 3) Chlorine: mass of H + C = 0.1897 g mass of
sample = 0.3670 g mass of Cl by difference = 0.1773 g moles of Cl = 0.0050 moles 4) Smallest whole-number ratio: molar ratio of C : H : Cl = 0.0150 : 0.0099 : 0.0050 divide the ratio by the smallest number molar ratio of C : H : Cl = 3.00 : 1.98 : 1 5) Formulas: empirical formula is C3H2Cl this has an "empirical formula weight" of (36+2+35.5) =
73.5 g which is 1/2 the molecular mass so the molecular formula is twice the empirical formula C6H4Cl2 Problem #8: A 2.52 g sample of a compound containing carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur was burned in excess oxygen gas to yield 4.36 grams of CO2 and 0.892 grams of H2O as the only carbon and hydrogen products respectively.
Another sample of the same compound of mass 4.14 g yielded 2.60 g of SO3 as the only sulfur containing product. A third sample of mass 5.66 g was burned under different conditions to yield 2.80 g of HNO3 as the only nitrogen containing product. Determine the empirical formula of the compound. Solution #1: 1) Carbon: (4.36 g) (12.011 g / 44.0 g)
= 1.1902 g of C 1.1902 g / 2.52 g = 47.23% 2) Hydrogen: (0.892 g) (2.016 g / 18.015 g) = 0.09982 g of H 0.09982 g / 2.52 g = 3.96% 3) Sulfur: 2.60 g x (32.065 g / 80.062 g) = 1.0413 g of S 1.0413 g / 4.14 g = 25.15% 4) Nitrogen: 2.80 x (14.007 / 63.012) = 0.6224 g of N 0.6224 g / 5.66 g = 11.00% 5) Oxygen: 100% − (47.23% + 3.96% + 25.15% +
11.00%) = 12.66% 6) Assume 100 g of compound present: C = 47.23 g; H = 3.96 g; S = 25.15 g; N = 11.00 g; O = 12.66 g 7) Convert to moles: C = 3.93; H = 3.93; S = 0.7843; N = 0.7853; O = 0.79125 8) Convert to lowest whole-number ratio by dividing each mole amount by 0.7843: C = 5; H = 5; S = 1; N = 1; O = 1 Empirical formula is C5H5NOS
Repeat Problem #8: A 2.52 g sample of a compound containing carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur was burned in excess oxygen gas to yield 4.36 grams of CO2 and 0.892 grams of H2O as the only carbon and hydrogen products respectively. Another sample of the same compound of mass 4.14 g yielded 2.60 g of SO3 as the only sulfur
containing product. A third sample of mass 5.66 g was burned under different conditions to yield 2.80 g of HNO3 as the only nitrogen containing product. Determine the empirical formula of the compound. Solution #2: 1) Carbon: # moles = mass / molar mass molar mass of CO2 = 44.0 g/ mole 4.36 g of CO2 has 4.36 /44.0 = 0.09909 moles of CO2
there is 1 mole of C in CO2 and all the C from the compound becomes CO2 moles of C in the compound = 0.09909 moles mass of C ---> 0.09909 x 12 = 1.1891 g 2) Hydrogen: molar mass of H2O = 18 g/ mole 0.892 g of H2O has 0.892 / 18 = 0.04956 moles of H2O there are 2 moles of H in H2O so moles of H in the compound = 0.09911 moles mass of
H ---> 0.09911 x 1.0079 = 0.100 g 3) Sulfur: moles of SO3 ---> 2.60 / 80 = 0.0325 moles of S in 4.14 g of compound = 0.0325 mol moles in 2.52 g of compound ---> (0.0325) (2.52 / 4.14) = 0.01978 moles mass of S ---> 0.01978 x 32 = 0.6330 g All the sulfur in the SO3 came from the 4.14 g sample. Notice the scaling from 4.14 g of compound to 2.52 g.
4) Nitrogen: moles of HNO3 ---> 2.80 / 63 = 0.04444 mol moles of N in 5.66 g of sample = 0.04444 moles in 2.52 g of compound ---> (0.04444) (2.52 / 5.66) = 0.01979 moles mass of N ---> 0.01979 x 14 = 0.2770 g All the nitrogen in the HNO3 came from the 5.66 g sample. Notice the scaling from 5.66 g of compound to 2.52 g. 5) Oxygen: mass C + H
+ S + N = 1.1891 + 0.100 + 0.6330 + 0.2770 = 2.1991 mass of O by difference = 2.52 − 2.1991 = 0.3209 g moles of O in 2.52 g = 0.3209 / 16 = 0.0201 moles 6) We now have all five mole amounts, so do the empirical formula: molar ratio of C : H : S : N : O = 0.09909 : 0.09911 : 0.01978 : 0.01979 : 0.0201 divide by the smallest number to get whole-
number ratio C : H : S : N : O = 5 : 5 : 1 : 1 : 1 empirical formula is C5H5NOS Problem #9: Burning 11.2 mL (measured at STP) of a gas known to contain only carbon and hydrogen, we obtained 44.0 mg CO2 and 0.0270 g H2O. Find the molecular formula of the gas. Solution: 1) Determine mass of carbon and hydrogen: C: (0.0440 g) (12.011 / 44.01) =
0.0120 g H: (0.0270 g) (2.016 / 18.015) = 0.0030 g 2) Determine moles of carbon and hydrogen: C: 0.0120 g / 12.0 g/mol = 0.00100 mol H: 0.0030 g / 1.008 g/mol = 0.00300 mol 3) Determine lowest whole-number ratio: C: 0.00100 mol / 0.00100 mol = 1 H: 0.00300 mol / 0.00100 mol = 3 empirical formula = CH3 4) Determine how many moles are in
our 11.2 mL of gas: PV = nRT (1.00 atm) (0.0112 L) = (n) (0.08206) (273 K) n = 0.00050 mol 5) The gas sample weighed this: 0.012 g + 0.003 g = 0.015 g 6) Get molecular weight of gas: 0.015 g / 0.00050 mol = 30 g/mol 7) The "empirical formula weight" of CH3 = 15 30 / 15 = 2 The molecular formula is C2H6 Problem #10: The osmotic pressure of a
solution containing 2.04 g of an unknown molecular compound dissolved in 175.0 mL of solution at 25.0 °C is 2.13 atm. The combustion of 22.08 g of the unknown compound produced 36.26 g CO2 and 14.85 g H2O Solution: 1) The osmotic pressure will allow us to calculate the molar mass of the substance: π = iMRT 2.13 atm = (1) (x / 0.175 L)
(0.08206 L atm / mol K) (298 K) x = 0.015243 mole 2.04 g / 0.015243 mole = 133.83 g/mol 2) Let us calculate the amount of carbon and hydrogen. Then, by subtraction, we will check for oxygen: carbon ---> 36.26 g x (12.011 / 44.01 ) = 9.8959 g hydrogen ---> 14.85 g x (2.016 / 18.015 ) = 1.6618 g oxygen ---> 22.08 minus (9.8959 + 1.6618) =
10.5223 g 3) Calculate moles of each element: carbon ---> 9.8959 g / 12.011 g/mol = 0.8239 mol hydrogen ---> 1.6618 g / 1.008 g/mol = 1.6486 mol oxygen ---> 10.5223 g / 15.999 g/mol = 0.657685 mol 4) Determine a whole number ratio: carbon ---> 0.8239 / 0.657685 = 1.25 hydrogen ---> 1.6486 / 0.657685 = 2.5 oxygen ---> 0.657685 / 0.657685 =
1 Look at it like this: carbon ---> 1.25 = 5/4 (times 4 = 5) hydrogen ---> 2.5 = 10/4 (times 4 = 10) oxygen ---> 1 = 4/4 (times 4 = 4) 5) The empirical formula is: C5H10O4 6) The "empirical formula weight" is 134. We calculated a molecular weight of 133.83.

The molecular formula is: C5H10O4 Problem #11: 1.5 L of a gaseous compound consisting of carbon and hydrogen is combusted with oxygen. When the resulting gaseous products are measured at the initial temperature and pressure, it was found that 3.0 L of CO2 and 1.5 L of H2O were formed. What is the formula of the compound? Solution:
Because everything was measured at equal temperatures and pressures, Avogadro's Hypothesis can be used to solve this problem. The hypothesis is: "Equal volumes at equal temperatures and pressures contain equal number of molecules." Just to make it a bit simpler to explain, let us assume a value of T and P such that the 3.0 L of each gas contains
3.0 moles. That means 1.5 moles of the compound was initially present. 3.0 moles of CO2 contains 3.0 moles of C and 1.5 moles of H2O contains 3.0 moles of H. 3.0 moles of C and 3.0 moles of H are contained in 1.5 moles of the compound. Therefore, 1.0 mol of the compound contains 2.0 mol of C and 2.0 mol of H. The formula of the compound is
C2H2. Bonus Problem #1: A 6.20-g sample of an unknown compound containing only C, H, and O combusts in an oxygen rich environment. When the products have cooled to 20.0 °C at 1 bar, there are 8.09 L of CO2 and 3.99 mL of H2O. The density of water at 20.0 °C is 0.998 g/mL. a) What is the empirical formula of the unknown compound? b) If
the molar mass is 168.2 g/mol, what is the molecular formula of the compound? Solution: 1) Mass of H2O: (3.99 mL) (0.998 g/mL) = 3.982 g 2) Mass of CO2: PV = nRT (1 bar) (8.09 L) = (n) (0.0831447 L bar / mol K) (293 K) n = 0.33208276 mol (0.33208276 mol) (44.009 g/mol) = 14.61463 g 3) We need grams of C and H before getting grams of O:
(14.61463 g) (12.011 g / 44.009 g) = 3.988646 g (3.982 g) (2.016 g / 18.015 g) = 0.445613 g 4) Mass of O: 6.20 − (3.988646 + 0.445613) = 1.765741 g 5) Determine moles of all three components: 3.988646 g / 12.011 g/mol = 0.332083 mol 0.445613 g / 1.008 g/mol = 0.4420764 mol 1.765741 g / 16.00 g/mol = 0.110359 mol 6) Divide through by
smallest: 0.332083 mol / 0.110359 mol = 3 0.4420764 mol / 0.110359 mol = 4 0.110359 mol / 0.110359 mol = 1 Empirical formula is C3H4O 7) The weight of C3H4O is 56.0636 168.2 / 56.0636 = 3 Molecular formula is C9H12O3 Bonus Problem #2: Given the following reaction: BxHy(s) + O2(g) ---> (x/2)B2O3(s) + (y/2)H2O(g) If 0.148 g BxHy yields
0.422 g B2O3 when burned in excess O2, what is the empirical formula of BxHy? Solution: 1) Grams of B in 0.422 g of B2O3: 0.422 g times (21.622 / 69.619) = 0.131 g xHy 2) Grams of H in 0.148 g of BxHy: 0.148 − 0.131 = 0.017 g 3) Determine moles of each: moles B in 0.131 g ---> 0.01212963 moles H in 0.017 g ---> 0.01686508 4) Look for
smallest whole-number ratio: B ---> 0.01212963 / 0.01212963 = 1 H ---> 0.01686508 / 0.01212963 = 1.4 Multiply by 5 gives 5 and 7 B5H7 Go to Ten Examples Go to a discussion of empirical and molecular formulas.

Return to Mole Table of Contents Naphthalene, the active ingredient in one variety of mothballs, is an organic compound that contains carbon and hydrogen only. Complete combustion of a 20.10 mg sample of naphthalene in oxygen yielded 69.00 mg of CO2 and 11.30 mg of H2O. Determine the empirical formula of naphthalene.
Given: mass of sample and mass of combustion products Asked for: empirical formula Strategy: Use the masses and molar masses of the combustion products, CO2 and H2O, to calculate the masses of carbon and hydrogen present in the original sample of naphthalene.

Use those masses and the molar masses of the elements to calculate the empirical formula of naphthalene. Solution: A Upon combustion, 1 mol of CO2 is produced for each mole of carbon atoms in the original sample. Similarly, 1 mol of H2O is produced for every 2 mol of hydrogen atoms present in the sample.
The masses of carbon and hydrogen in the original sample can be calculated from these ratios, the masses of CO2 and H2O, and their molar masses. Because the units of molar mass are grams per mole, we must first convert the masses from milligrams to grams: \[ mass \, of \, C = 69.00 \, mg \, CO_2 \times {1 \, g \over 1000 \, mg } \times {1 \, mol \,
CO_2 \over 44.010 \, g \, CO_2} \times {1 \, mol C \over 1 \, mol \, CO_2 } \times {12.011 \,g \over 1 \, mol \, C} \] \[ = 1.883 \times 10^{-2} \, g \, C \] \[ mass \, of \, H = 11.30 \, mg \, H_2O \times {1 \, g \over 1000 \, mg } \times {1 \, mol \, H_2O \over 18.015 \, g \, H_2O} \times {2 \, mol H \over 1 \, mol \, H_2O } \times {1.0079 \,g \over 1 \, mol \, H}
\] \[ = 1.264 \times 10^{-3} \, g \, H \] B To obtain the relative numbers of atoms of both elements present, we need to calculate the number of moles of each and divide by the number of moles of the element present in the smallest amount: \[ moles \, C = 1.883 \times 10^{-2} \,g \, C \times {1 \, mol \, C \over 12.011 \, g \, C} = 1.568 \times 10^{-3} \,
mol C \] \[ moles \, H = 1.264 \times 10^{-3} \,g \, H \times {1 \, mol \, H \over 1.0079 \, g \, H} = 1.254 \times 10^{-3} \, mol H \] Dividing each number by the number of moles of the element present in the smaller amount gives \[H: {1.254\times 10^{−3} \over 1.254 \times 10^{−3}} = 1.000 \, \, \, C: {1.568 \times 10^{−3} \over 1.254 \times
10^{−3}}= 1.250\] Thus naphthalene contains a 1.25:1 ratio of moles of carbon to moles of hydrogen: C1.25H1.0. Because the ratios of the elements in the empirical formula must be expressed as small whole numbers, multiply both subscripts by 4, which gives C5H4 as the empirical formula of naphthalene. In fact, the molecular formula of
naphthalene is C10H8, which is consistent with our results.