Chemistry / Chem 0189 · Procedure · 60–90 seconds
Applying the Law of Multiple Proportions
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Applying the law of multiple proportions means fixing the mass of one element in two compounds, then reducing the other element's two masses to a small whole-number ratio.
Compound A contains 4.27 g carbon and 5.69 g oxygen; compound B contains 5.19 g carbon and 13.84 g oxygen. Dividing oxygen by carbon in each gives an oxygen-to-carbon ratio of about 1.332 for A and about 2.666 for B. Dividing the larger ratio by the smaller gives almost exactly 2, a small whole number, confirming the law and showing A and B are distinct compounds — B carries twice the oxygen per unit of carbon that A does. A plausible pair matching this pattern is carbon monoxide, CO, for A and carbon dioxide, CO2, for B.
Skipping the "ratio of ratios" step and stopping at the two separate oxygen-to-carbon numbers looks like progress but proves nothing; the law is confirmed only once those two ratios are compared to each other and reduced to small whole numbers.
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