Answered

An EPA scientist was called to the site of a gasoline spill. She took a sample of a smelly substance found onsite back to her lab to find out its identity. The 7.50-gram sample of liquid was shown to contain 6.58g of carbon and 0.92g of hydrogen. It is known that octane, the principle component of gasoline, is 85.6% carbon and 14.4% hydrogen. Was this a sample of octane or another substance? Show your work to explain your answer.