A 100 g sample of substance A is composed of 57.1 g of oxygen and 42.9 g of carbon. Another 100 g sample of substance B is made up of 72.7 g oxygen and 27.3 g carbon. What can be determined about substances A and B?

Explanation:

57.1 g of oxygen combines with 42.9 g of carbon

57.1/16 atoms of oxygen combines with 42.9 / 12 atoms of carbon

3.56 atoms of oxygen combines with 3.575 atoms of carbon

one atom of oxygen combines with one atom of carbon

A appears to be CO ( carbon monoxide gas )

2 )

72.7 g of oxygen combines with 27.3 g of carbon

72.7 / 16 atoms of oxygen combines with 27.3 / 12 atoms of carbon

4.54 atoms of oxygen combines with 2.275 atoms of carbon

2 atoms of oxygen combines with 1 atom of carbon

B appears to be CO₂ ( Carbon dioxide)

the old alchemists made significant contributions to science even though there starting premises were off a bit. their conclusions after failure would steer them into better directions for investigation. science is no more than close observation and the initial mistakes result in rethinking and retrying experiments.