Answer
Combustion analysis is a method of obtaining empirical formulas for unknown compounds, primarily those containing carbon and hydrogen, by burning a sample of the compound in pure oxygen and analyzing the products of the combustion reaction.
Work Step by Step
Combustion analysis is useful because it allows us to determine the total mass of oxygen atoms from the mass of the sample and form the masses of carbon dioxide and water. From this calculation we are then able to compute the empirical formula of the compound.
