law of multiple proportions

7.5

When two elements form different compounds, the masses that combine with the same mass are in small whole number ratios

noun
/lɔː ʌv ˈmʌltəpl pəˈrɒpɔrʃənz/

Specialized

: ley de las proporciones múltiples

The law of multiple proportions demonstrates how water and hydrogen peroxide share ratios of hydrogen and oxygen based on small whole numbers.

Examples

And he noticed a pattern and he noticed a pattern and he called it the law of multiple proportions because what he found is that you could keep on going.
According to the law of multiple proportions, the different compounds formed by carbon and oxygen combine in ratios of small whole numbers.
When studying the law of multiple proportions, chemists observe that the ratios of sulfur to oxygen in different compounds are simple whole numbers.

Synonyms

Dalton's law

vslaw of multiple proportions

Specialized

7.7

If two elements make more than one compound, their mass ratios are simple whole numbers

is the same principle but uses a descriptive name rather than a scientist's name

Surface Forms

law of multiple proportions singular

Morphology

law + of + multiple + proportion

The constituents 'law', 'multiple' and 'proportion' signal a scientific rule about more-than-one proportional relationships, so a learner who knows the words can infer a general idea that it is a principle about proportions involving multiples. However, the specific chemical content (that when two elements form more than one compound the masses combine in small whole-number ratios) is technical and not predictable from the words alone, so full understanding requires subject knowledge.

Etymology

Law of multiple proportions comes from simple chemistry experiments where the same two elements made different 'compounds' by joining in different small amounts. Think of one fixed block of element A and adding 1, 2 or 3 blocks of element B — the rule says those amounts are in 'small whole numbers', which is why the law helps explain how atoms combine.