Question

this is the chemical formula for methyl tert - butyl ether (the clean - fuel gasoline additive mtbe): ch₃oc(ch₃)₃. a chemical engineer has determined by measurements that there are 37.1 moles of hydrogen in a sample of methyl tert - butyl ether. how many moles of oxygen are in the sample? be sure your answer has the correct number of significant digits.

Explanation:

Step1: Determine H - O ratio

In $CH_3OC(CH_3)_3$, there are 12 hydrogen atoms and 1 oxygen atom. So the H - O mole ratio is 12:1.

Step2: Calculate moles of oxygen

Let $x$ be the moles of oxygen. We know $\frac{\text{moles of H}}{\text{moles of O}}=\frac{12}{1}$. Given moles of H = 37.1. So $x=\frac{37.1}{12}$.
$x = 3.09166\cdots\approx3.09$ (3 significant digits)

Answer:

3.09 mol