A 7.83 g sample of HCN contains 0.290 g of H and 4.06 g of N. Find the mass of carbon in a sample of HCN with a mass of 3.37 g.

In the first sample, we are given 7.83-g of HCN which contains 0.290 g of H and 4.06 g of N. On the second sample of HCN, we are required to find the mass of Carbon given that the sample has a mass of 3.37 g.

From the first sample, get the mass of the carbon atom for every 7.83-g of HCN sample.

We know that the mass of a substance is equal to the sum of the mass of its components

Let:

m= mass m$_{\text{HCN}}$= m$_{\text{H}}$ + m$_{\text{C}}$ + m$_{\text{N}}$ 7.83 g= 0.290 g+ m$_{\text{C}}$ + 4.06 g 7.83 g- 0.290 g - 4.06 g=m$_{\text{C}}$ m$_{\text{C}}$= 3.48 g Therefore for every 7.83 g of HCN, there are 3.48 g C. Or it can be written as $\dfrac{3.48 \text{ g C}}{7.83 \text{g HCN}}$ From the second sample, we can now get the mass of carbon by the use of the ratio

3.37 g HCN$\times \dfrac{3.48 \text{ g C}}{7.83 \text{g HCN}}=\boxed{1.50 }$ grams C