Exercise PVC is used to make blister packs , which are widely used for packaging pharmaceuticals. It is produced from vinyl chloride. Vinyl chloride is composed of C, H and Cl. Mass percentages of C and H are 38.43% and 4.84% , respectively. Determine the empirical formula of vinyl chloride. moss

To determine the empirical formula of vinyl chloride, we need to find the ratio of the number of atoms of each element in the compound.<br /><br />Given:<br />- Mass percentage of carbon (C) = 38.43%<br />- Mass percentage of hydrogen (H) = 4.84%<br />- Mass percentage of chlorine (Cl) = 100% - 38.43% - 4.84% = 56.73%<br /><br />Let's assume we have 100 grams of vinyl chloride. This means we have:<br />- 38.43 grams of carbon<br />- 4.84 grams of hydrogen<br />- 56.73 grams of chlorine<br /><br />Next, we convert these masses to moles by dividing by the atomic masses of each element:<br />- Atomic mass of carbon (C) = 12.01 g/mol<br />- Atomic mass of hydrogen (H) = 1.008 g/mol<br />- Atomic mass of chlorine (Cl) = 35.45 g/mol<br /><br />Moles of carbon:<br />\[ \frac{38.43 \text{ g}}{12.01 \text{ g/mol}} \approx 3.20 \text{ moles} \]<br /><br />Moles of hydrogen:<br />\[ \frac{4.84 \text{ g}}{1.008 \text{ g/mol}} \approx 4.80 \text{ moles} \]<br /><br />Moles of chlorine:<br />\[ \frac{56.73 \text{ g}}{35.45 \text{ g/mol}} \approx 1.61 \text{ moles} \]<br /><br />Now, we find the simplest whole number ratio by dividing each mole value by the smallest number of moles calculated:<br />- Carbon: \( \frac{3.20}{1.61} \approx 1.99 \)<br />- Hydrogen: \( \frac{4.80}{1.61} \approx 2.99 \)<br />- Chlorine: \( \frac{1.61}{1.61} = 1 \)<br /><br />Rounding to the nearest whole number, we get:<br />- Carbon: 2<br />- Hydrogen: 3<br />- Chlorine: 1<br /><br />Therefore, the empirical formula of vinyl chloride is \( \text{C}_2\text{H}_3\text{Cl} \).