Carbon forms two oxides, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, in which twelve grams of carbon combines with sixteen grams and thirty two grams of oxygen respectively. This illustrates
- A.The law of conservation of mass
- B.The law of constant proportions
- C.The law of multiple proportions
- D.Avogadro's law
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, the law of multiple proportions, given by John Dalton. When two elements form more than one compound, the masses of one element that combine with a fixed mass of the other bear a simple whole number ratio, and here the oxygen masses of sixteen and thirty two grams for the same twelve grams of carbon are in the ratio one to two. Option A is wrong because conservation of mass compares the mass before and after a reaction and says nothing about two different compounds. Option B is wrong because constant proportions applies to one compound, saying that its composition never changes, which is true of each oxide separately but is not what this data shows. Option D is wrong because Avogadro's law is about the number of molecules in equal volumes of gases. Other standard illustrations are the oxides of nitrogen and the two oxides of sulphur, so expect the same question with different compounds.
Read the full article: Atoms, Molecules and the Mole Concept: Exam Notes
Practice Questions
View allThe law of conservation of mass in a chemical reaction was given by
- A.John Dalton
- B.Antoine Lavoisier
- C.Joseph Proust
- D.Amedeo Avogadro
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The correct answer is B, Antoine Lavoisier, the French chemist who showed by careful weighing in closed vessels that the total mass of the products of a reaction is exactly equal to the total mass of the reactants, so that matter is neither created nor destroyed in a chemical change.
Read the full explanation →The law which states that a pure chemical compound always contains the same elements combined in the same proportion by mass is known as
- A.The law of multiple proportions
- B.The law of constant proportions
- C.The law of conservation of mass
- D.The law of gaseous volumes
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Water drawn from a river, from rain or made in a laboratory always has hydrogen and oxygen in the mass ratio of one to eight, and ammonia always has nitrogen and hydrogen in the ratio of fourteen to three.
Read the full explanation →Atomic mass of Nitrogen is 14 and that of Hydrogen is 1. What will be the molecular mass of Ammonia?
- A.17
- B.18
- C.15
- D.16
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The formula of ammonia is NH3, so its molecular mass is the atomic mass of one nitrogen atom added to the atomic masses of three hydrogen atoms, that is fourteen plus three times one, which equals seventeen unified atomic mass units; one mole of ammonia therefore weighs seventeen grams.
Read the full explanation →The formula unit mass of CaCl2 is:
- A.115u
- B.114u
- C.111u
- D.110u
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Calcium chloride is an ionic compound, so the sum of the atomic masses in its formula is called the formula unit mass rather than the molecular mass.
Read the full explanation →The number of particles present in one mole of any substance is
- A.6.022 into ten to the power twenty-three
- B.6.022 into ten to the power twenty-one
- C.3.011 into ten to the power twenty-three
- D.9.8 into ten to the power twenty-three
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It is the number of atoms in twelve grams of carbon twelve, and it holds for atoms, molecules, ions or electrons alike, so one mole of water has that many water molecules and one mole of sodium has that many sodium atoms.
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