Benzene, C6H6, reacts with nitric acid, HNO3. Two products are formed, one of which is water. The second product has a molar mass of 213 grams. The second product is composed of 33.8% carbon, 1.42% hydrogen, 19.7% nitrogen, and 45.1% oxygen. Write a balanced chemical equation for this reaction

Answer 1

Determine the empirical formula.
Take 100 g sample which gives you
33.8 g C
1.42 g H
19.7 g N
45.1 g O
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Convert to mols.
33.8/12 = approx 2.8 C
1.42/1 = 1.42 H
19.7/14 = approx 1.41 N
45.1/16 = approx 2.8 O
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Find the ratio
I think that is C2HNO2. The empirical mass is (24 + 1 + 14 + 32 = 71
molar mass in the problem is 213 so this must be 213/71 = about 3 and the molecular formula is C6H3N3O6 which I would bet was C6H3(NO2)3
C6H6 + HNO3 ==> H2O + C6H3(NO2)3
I will leave that for you to balance.

Answer 2

C6H6(g)+3HNO3(aq)=C6H3(NO2)3(aq)+3H2O(l)