Using Dalton's Atomic theory, explain the following observation.
Hint: DO NOT answer with a law!
Water is always found the ratio of 8 g of oxygen to 1 g of hydrogen, whereas hydrogen peroxide is always found in the ratio of 16 g of oxygen to 1 g of hydrogen.

Question

Using Dalton's Atomic theory, explain the following observation.
Hint:  DO NOT answer with a law!
Water is always found the ratio of 8 g of oxygen to 1 g of hydrogen, whereas hydrogen peroxide is always found in the ratio of 16 g of oxygen to 1 g of hydrogen.

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The question asks to use Dalton's Atomic Theory to explain a specific observation about mass ratios in compounds, and it explicitly asks not to answer with a law.
First, note that Dalton's Atomic Theory posits that elements are composed of atoms, and compounds form when atoms combine in simple, whole-number ratios.
Applying this to the observation: water (H2O) consists of hydrogen and oxygen atoms in a fixed ratio, and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) also consists of hydrogen and oxygen atoms but in a different fixed ratio. Because the elements combine in discrete whole-number amounts, each compound has a characteristic mass ratio of oxygen to hydrogen.
For water, the molecular composition is H2O, which corresponds to 2 hydrogen atoms for every 1 oxygen atom. If you consider molar masses (approximately 1 g per H atom and 16 g per O atom), the mass ratio O:H becomes 16 g O to 2 g H, which simplifies to 8:1. This fixed ratio arises from the definite whole-number combination of atoms in a water molecule.
For hydrogen peroxide, the composition is H2O2, meaning 2 hydrogen atoms for every 2 oxygen atoms. Using molar masses again, this yields a mass ratio of 32 g O to 2 g H, which simplifies to 16:1. The larger mass ratio reflects the different simple whole-number combination of atoms in hydrogen peroxide compared to water.
Thus, Dalton's idea that compounds form from atoms combining in simple whole-number ratios explains why water and hydrogen peroxide have distinct, consistent mass ratios of oxygen to hydrogen.
Regarding the prompt’s hint not to answer with a law: the explanation above is grounded in the atomic composition and simple ratio concept from Dalton's theory, not by invoking a general gas/pressure law or other laws.
Note: The provided options field for this question is empty, so there are no individual choice statements to evaluate one by one. If options were given, we would assess each for consistency with Dalton’s idea that fixed, simple whole-number ratios of atoms define a compound’s composition, and use the mass relationships derived from the atomic masses to justify why water is 8:1 (O:H) and hydrogen peroxide is 16:1 (O:H).

Using Dalton's Atomic theory, explain the following observation. Hint: DO NOT answer with a law! Water is always found the ratio of 8 g of oxygen to 1 g of hydrogen, whereas hydrogen peroxide is always found in the ratio of 16 g of oxygen to 1 g of hydrogen.

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