Menthol is composed of c, h, and o. a 0.1005-g sample of menthol is combusted in oxygen, producing 0.2829 g of co2 and 0.1159 g of h2o. what is the empirical formula of menthol?

The empirical formula for the given organic compound is

Explanation:

The chemical equation for the combustion of hydrocarbon having carbon, hydrogen and oxygen follows:

where, 'x', 'y' and 'z' are the subscripts of Carbon, hydrogen and oxygen 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

In 44 g of carbon dioxide, 12 g of carbon is contained.

So, in 0.2829 g of carbon dioxide, of carbon will be contained.

In 18 g of water, 2 g of hydrogen is contained.

So, in 0.1159 g of water, of hydrogen will be contained.

To formulate the empirical formula, we need to follow some steps:

Moles of Carbon =

Moles of Hydrogen =

Moles of Oxygen =

For the mole ratio, we divide each value of the moles by the smallest number of moles calculated which is 0.0064 moles.

For Carbon =

For Hydrogen  =

For Oxygen  =

The ratio of C : H : O = 1 : 2 : 1

Hence, the empirical formula for the given compound is

dynamic equilibrium is the answer.