Complete combustion of 0.50 g of an oxygen-containing organic compound gave 0.88 g of CO ₂ and 0.90 g of H ₂ O . The percentage of oxygen in the compound is _______. [Given : Molar mass (in g mol ⁻¹ ) C : 12, H : 1, O : 16 ]

Step-by-step solution

Mass of carbon in the compound = 12 44 Mass of CO ₂ = 12 44 0.88 = 0.24 g Mass of hydrogen in the compound = 2 18 Mass of H ₂ O = 2 18 0.90 = 0.10 g Total mass of carbon and hydrogen = 0.24 + 0.10 = 0.34 g Since the compound contains only carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, the mass of oxygen is: Mass of oxygen = Total mass of compound - ( Mass of C + Mass of H ) = 0.50 - 0.34 = 0.16 g Percentage of oxygen = 0.16 0.50 100 = 32 % Answer: 32