Note that (NH 3 ) 2 implies N 2 H 6 : 2 atoms of N and 6 atoms of H.12 . C 4 H 9
The reaction is of the form:hydrocarbon + O 2 → CO 2 and H 2 O
We can see that all the carbon and all the hydrogen on the product side have to come from the
hydrocarbon originally, and so from the amounts of CO 2 and H 2 O given, the moles of carbon
and hydrogen in the hydrocarbon can be calculated.Since each mole of CO 2 contains one mole of carbon, 1.33 moles of CO 2 contains 1.33 moles of
carbon. Therefore, the hydrocarbon contains 1.33 moles of carbon.Since one mole of H 2 O contains two moles of hydrogen atoms, 1.5 moles of H 2 O contains 3.0
moles of hydrogen. Therefore, the hydrocarbon contains 3 moles of hydrogen.Using these calculations, the simplest formula that can be written is C1.33H 3 . However,
empirical and molecular formulas are not expressed with decimals or fractions, so these
coefficients should be multiplied by their least common multiple to get whole-number
coefficients. Both 1.33 and 3 are multiplied by 3 to give an empirical formula of C 4 H 9.13 . The following are the correct balanced equations.