The empirical formula for the hydrocarbon is C₄H₇.
The empirical formula of the molecule is the simplest whole number of atoms of a compound.
Moles of C in the compound: 27.8 g CO2 x 1 mol CO2/44 g x 1 mol C/mole CO2 = 0.632 moles of C
Moles of H in the compound: 9.96 g H2O x 1 mol H2O/18 g x 2 mol H/mol H2O = 1.11 moles of H
mass C = 0.632 mol C x 12 g/mol = 7.58 g C
mass H = 1.11 mol H x 1 g/mol = 1.11 g H
Sum = 8.69 g total mass (close enough to 8.70 so our assumption of no oxygen is correct)
To find the lowest whole number of moles, we can divide both by the lowest value (0.632) to obtain.
moles C = 0.632/0.632 = 1.0
moles H = 1.11/0.632 = 1.75
Now to get a whole number for H we can multiply both by 4 to obtain
moles C = 4
moles H = 7
Thus, the Empirical formula is C₄H₇.
To learn more about the Empirical formula, refer to the below link:
https://brainly.com/question/14044066
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