A sample of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is synthesized in the laboratory. It contains 1.50 g of carbon and 2.00 g of oxygen. Another sample of ascorbic acid isolated from citrus fruits contains 6.35 g of carbon. How many grams of oxygen does it contain? Which law are you assuming in answering this question?

Question

anonymous · Answer

Is it 3.18 grams of oxygen? :/

festinger · Answer

If the initial sample of vitamin C has 1.5g of carbon and 2g (more mass) of oxygen, how would the same vitamin C have less mass of oxygen compared to carbon?

anonymous · Answer

find ratio of no. of moles of carbon to oxygen.. it will be same in both cases

anonymous · Answer

@Festinger : I don't get you. :/
@mr.singh : Okaay. Thank you. :)

festinger · Answer

The sample of laboratory Vitamin C has 1.5g of Carbon and 2.0g of oxygen.
This means mass of oxygen is greater than carbon.

Now I have more carbon inside another sample of Vitamin C. Do you expect it to have more oxygen by mass or less?

anonymous · Answer

less.

festinger · Answer

Why less? Consider the following:
|dw:1374750339286:dw|
1 molecule of star as 1C 1O and other stuff that is not C or O.

If I told you I only have the molecule of star, but I will not tell you how many I have, but I told you I have 10 atoms of C, what how many O will I have?