Question

intermediate level problems: 6. the following are the results of analysis of two samples containing phosphorous and oxygen. from these results determine if the two samples are the same compound. if the compounds are different, show that the data follows the law of multiple proportions.

	mass of p	mass of o
sample b	3.718 g	2.881 g

Explanation:

Step1: Calculate the mass - ratio of P to O in Sample A

Calculate the ratio of the mass of P to the mass of O in Sample A. The ratio $r_A=\frac{\text{Mass of P in Sample A}}{\text{Mass of O in Sample A}}$.
$r_A=\frac{2.581}{3.322}\approx 0.777$.

Step2: Calculate the mass - ratio of P to O in Sample B

Calculate the ratio of the mass of P to the mass of O in Sample B. The ratio $r_B=\frac{\text{Mass of P in Sample B}}{\text{Mass of O in Sample B}}$.
$r_B = \frac{3.718}{2.881}\approx1.291$.

Step3: Calculate the ratio of the two ratios

Find the ratio of $r_B$ to $r_A$: $\frac{r_B}{r_A}=\frac{1.291}{0.777}\approx1.66$. Since $1.66=\frac{5}{3}$, which is a simple - whole - number ratio.

Answer:

The two samples are different compounds, and the data follows the law of multiple proportions.