Find the empirical formula of a hydrocarbon with 85.6 mass % carbon.

Sure, here are the steps to find the empirical formula of a hydrocarbon with 85.6 mass % carbon:

1. Assume a 100g sample. This means we have 85.6g of Carbon and the rest (100g - 85.6g = 14.4g) is Hydrogen.

2. Convert the mass of Carbon and Hydrogen to moles. The molar mass of Carbon (C) is approximately 12.01g/mol and the molar mass of Hydrogen (H) is approximately 1.01g/mol.

   Moles of C = 85.6g / 12.01g/mol = 7.13 mol Moles of H = 14.4g / 1.01g/mol = 14.26 mol

3. To find the empirical formula, we need to find the ratio of moles of C to H. We do this by dividing each by the smallest number of moles calculated:

   Ratio of C = 7.13 mol / 7.13 mol = 1 Ratio of H = 14.26 mol / 7.13 mol = 2

So, the empirical formula of the hydrocarbon is CH2.