The reaction of equal molar amounts of benzene, C6H6, and chlorine, Cl2, carried out under special conditions, yields a gas and a clear liquid. Analysis of the liquid shows that it contains 64.03% carbon, 4.48% hydrogen, and 31.49% chlorine by mass and that is has a molar mass of 112.5 g/mol. The molecular formula will be determined. First, determine the number of moles of carbon in a 100 g sample.

Answer : The molecular formula of a compound is,

Solution : Given,

Mass of C = 64.03 g

Mass of H = 4.48 g

Mass of Cl = 31.49 g

Molar mass of C = 12 g/mole

Molar mass of H = 1 g/mole

Molar mass of Cl = 35.5 g/mole

Step 1 : convert given masses into moles.

Moles of C =

Moles of H =

Moles of Cl =

Step 2 : For the mole ratio, divide each value of moles by the smallest number of moles calculated.

For C =

For H =

For Cl =

The ratio of C : H : Cl = 6 : 5 : 1

The mole ratio of the element is represented by subscripts in empirical formula.

The Empirical formula =

The empirical formula weight = 6(12) + 5(1) + 1(35.5) = 112.5 gram/eq

Now we have to calculate the molecular formula of the compound.

Formula used :

Molecular formula =

Therefore, the molecular of the compound is,