Peroxyacylnitrate (PAN) is one of the components of smog. It is a compound of C, H, N, and O.
Determine the percent composition of oxygen and
the empirical formula from the following percent
composition by mass: 19.8 percent C,
2.50 percent
H, 11.6 percent N. What is its molecular formula
given that its molar mass is about 120 g?

C – 19,9%, H – 2,2%, N – 11,6%, O – x%

1 percentage

The entire molecule is 100% and all the components of the compound add up to 100%.

100% - 19,9% - 2,5% - 11,6% = 66,1%

The compound contains 66,1% oxygen.

2 molar masses

3 masses

The compound has a molar mass of 120g/mol. So one molecule weighs 120 g. To find out how much the percentage of a component weighs, you have to calculate it using the molar mass.

carbon

19,8% of 120g

One molecule contains 23,76g of carbon.

hydrogen

2,5% of 120g

One molecule contains 3g of hydrogen.

oxygen

66,1% of 120g

One molecule contains 79,32g of oxygen.

nitrogen

11,6% of 120g

One molecule contains 13,92g of nitrogen.

4 amount of substance

carbon

The compound contains about 2 moles of carbon.

hydrogen

The compound contains about 3 moles of hydrogen.

oxygen

The compound contains about 5 moles of oxygen.

nitrogen

The compound contains about 1 moles of nitrogen.

5. molecular formula

The formula results from the ratio of the amounts of substance.

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