1. John Dalton believed that water was formed from the simplest combination of hydrogen and oxygen atoms—one of each. Observations today show that 8 g
of oxygen react with 1 g of hydrogen to form water.
a) Based on these two statements, what conclusion could Dalton draw about the relative masses of oxygen and hydrogen atoms? How many times more massive is an oxygen atom than a hydrogen atom?

Question

1. John Dalton believed that water was formed from the simplest combination of hydrogen and oxygen atoms—one of each. Observations today show that 8 g
of oxygen react with 1 g of hydrogen to form water.
a) Based on these two statements, what conclusion could Dalton draw about the relative masses of oxygen and hydrogen atoms? How many times more massive is an oxygen atom than a hydrogen atom?

anonymous · Answer

b) The atomic mass of oxygen is 16 and the atomic mass of hydrogen is 1. How do the current atomic masses of oxygen and hydrogen compare to Dalton’s?
￼￼￼c) You know that water molecules are not
made from one atom of hydrogen and
one atom of oxygen. Water is H2O. A water molecule is made up of two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen. The gram of hydrogen reacting with eight grams of oxygen is due to the fact that there are twice as many hydrogen atoms as there are oxygen atoms. How many times more massive is an oxygen atom than a hydrogen atom?
d) Are the values of these revised masses closer to the current atomic masses of oxygen and hydrogen atoms?