Question bank: Ponderal Laws: Dalton

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a gas that plays a key role in the carbon cycle and in the absorption of heat in the Earth's atmosphere. When burned carbon (coal, for example) reacts with oxygen, carbon dioxide is produced. Considering Dalton's Law of Multiple Proportions, which states that 'If two elements can form two different compounds, the mass of one element that combines with a fixed mass of the other is in a ratio of small whole numbers', answer: (a) What is the practical significance of this law in understanding the chemical composition of carbon combustion products? (b) If the complete reaction of 12 grams of carbon produces 44 grams of CO2, determine the mass of oxygen that participated in this reaction and justify your answer based on Dalton's law.

During a chemical synthesis experiment, a student observed the formation of two different compounds, both containing oxygen and sulfur, from the same fixed mass of sulfur. In the first compound, 48g of oxygen reacted with 32g of sulfur, resulting in a new product. In the second compound, 64g of oxygen reacted with the same mass of sulfur, generating another distinct product. Based on Dalton's Law of Multiple Proportions, which states that 'if two elements form more than one compound, the masses of one element that combine with a fixed mass of the other are in a ratio of simple whole numbers', answer the following questions: 1) Calculate the ratio between the masses of oxygen that combine with the same fixed mass of sulfur in the two compounds and determine if this ratio satisfies Dalton's law. 2) Considering that the molar mass of oxygen is 16 g/mol and sulfur is 32 g/mol, calculate the empirical formula of each compound formed.

When studying the formation of chemical compounds, a chemist observed that element X can combine with element Y to form two different compounds, A and B. In compound A, 5 grams of X combine with 10 grams of Y, while in compound B, 5 grams of X combine with 20 grams of Y. Based on Dalton's Law of Multiple Proportions, the masses of elements in different compounds are expected to be related by simple ratios of integers. (1) Calculate the ratio between the masses of Y that combine with the same mass of X in compounds A and B and indicate if this ratio respects Dalton's Law. (2) If a third compound C were discovered, containing 5 grams of X and 15 grams of Y, would this compound be in accordance with Dalton's Law? Justify your answer based on the calculated proportions.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a compound formed by the combination of the elements carbon and oxygen. Dalton's Law of Multiple Proportions states that if two elements form more than one compound, the masses of one of the elements combining with the fixed mass of the other are in a ratio of small whole numbers. Consider that in an experiment, 12 g of carbon is combined with different amounts of oxygen to form two different compounds. In the first compound, the mass of oxygen is 16 g, and in the second compound, the mass of oxygen is 32 g. (1) Based on Dalton's Law, determine the relationship between the masses of oxygen that combine with a fixed mass of 12 g of carbon to form the two compounds. (2) Analyze and explain if the results obtained are in accordance with Dalton's principle of multiple proportions.

The oxide of an unknown metal M can occur in different forms, one containing a higher proportion of oxygen in relation to the metal than the other. Scientist John Dalton postulated that if two elements form more than one compound with each other, the ratios of the masses of one element that combines with a fixed mass of the other are small whole numbers. A chemist synthesized two different oxides of metal M. In the first oxide, 4g of the metal combined with 1g of oxygen. In the second oxide, 4g of the same metal were needed to combine with 2g of oxygen. Considering Dalton's Law of Multiple Proportions: 1) Calculate the ratio between the masses of oxygen that combine with a fixed mass of 4g of metal M in the two oxides and verify if it is in accordance with Dalton's postulated law. 2) Based on the result of the previous calculation, discuss if it is possible to infer the relationship between the molecular formulas of the two oxides, considering that they can be represented by MxOy, where x and y are small integers.