A sample of a compound analyzed in a chemistry laboratory consists of 5.34 g of carbon, 0.42 g of hydrogen, and 47.08 g of chlorine. What is the percent composition of this compound?

1 Answer
anor277
Aug 7, 2016

#"% element by mass"# #=# #"Mass of element"/"Mass of compound"xx100%#

Explanation:

And thus #%C# #=# #(5.34*g)/(5.34*g+0.42*g+47.08*g)xx100%# #=# #10.1%#

I leave it to you to find #%H# and #%Cl#. And of course the percentages must sum to #100%#. Why?

Given these data, it is possible to calculate an empirical formula for the compound.

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