Question

Police officers confiscate a packet of white powder that they believe contains heroin. Purification by a forensic chemist yields a 49.28 mg sample for airproof combustion analysis. The sample gives 124.1 mg of CO₂ and 26.50 mg of H₂O. A second sample is analyzed for nitrogen content, which is 3.8%.

What is the empirical formula of the compound? List the elements in standard order for carbon compounds: C followed by H followed by other elements in increasing atomic number.

Answer 1