How do you find the empirical formula; A 4.083 sample of a chemical containing only lead, carbon, and hydrogen reacts in combustion reaction. 4.444 g of CO2 and 2.274 g of H2O were formed. Insert subscripts in CHPb. I understand how to find moles, then divide by smallest number, but finding the actual mole ratio is a jumble. Thank You

Question

How do you find the empirical formula; A 4.083 sample of a chemical containing only lead, carbon, and hydrogen reacts in combustion reaction.  4.444 g of CO2 and 2.274 g of H2O were formed. Insert subscripts in CHPb. I understand how to find moles, then divide by smallest number, but finding the actual mole ratio is a jumble.  Thank You

bobpursley · Answer

CxHyPbz>>CO2 + H2O +Pb

get grams of H in H2O
2.274*(1/18). That mass came from CxHyPbz
so moles of Hy= gramsH*1/1=.126moles Hy
get grams C in CO2:
4.444(12/44)>>moles C=4.444(12/44)/44=.027 moles
grams Pb: 4.083-4.44(12/44)-2.274(1/18)=2.27 grams, or molesPb=2.27/207.2 =.0109 moles.
Mole ratio, divide by smallest (.0126)
C2 H10 Pb
check my math, please. It is a bit weird.