Among the naturally occurring hydrocarbons emitted by plants...

Name: Problem 75, Chapter 3: Chemistry The Science in Context
Uploaded: 2020-05-07T07:04:05-08:00
Duration: 1 min
Channel: Sam Limsuwannarot
Description: Among the naturally occurring hydrocarbons emitted by plants are three compounds named camphene, carene, and thujene. If all three of these compounds have the same percent composition and the same molar mass, do they have the same empirical formula? Do they have the same molecular formula? Are they isomers?

Among the naturally occurring hydrocarbons emitted by plants are three compounds named camphene, carene, and thujene. If all three of these compounds have the same percent composition and the same molar mass, do they have the same empirical formula? Do they have the same molecular formula? Are they isomers?

Key Concepts

Isomerism

Isomerism is the phenomenon where compounds share the same molecular formula but have different structural or spatial arrangements of atoms. Even though compounds like camphene, carene, and thujene have identical empirical and molecular formulas, differences in the connectivity or arrangement of atoms can result in different chemical properties, characterizing them as isomers.

Percent Composition

Percent composition refers to the mass percentage of each element in a compound. In analytical chemistry, it is used to determine the relative amounts of elements present, which can help infer the empirical formula of a compound when the percentages are converted into a simple whole-number ratio of atoms.

Empirical Formula

The empirical formula of a compound represents the simplest whole-number ratio of the elements present. When compounds have identical percent compositions, they necessarily have the same empirical formula since the ratios of the constituent elements are equivalent.

Molecular Formula

The molecular formula of a compound indicates the actual number of atoms of each element in a molecule. If compounds not only have the same percent composition but also the same molar mass, their molecular formulas must be identical, as the empirical formula has to be scaled by the same integer multiplier.

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