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Determine the empirical formula of a compound containing 48.38 grams of carbon, 6.74 grams of hydrogen, and 53.5 grams of oxygen
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Answers ( )
Answer: The empirical formula of the compound becomes
Explanation:
The empirical formula is the chemical formula of the simplest ratio of the number of atoms of each element present in a compound.
We are given:
Mass of C = 48.38 g
Mass of H = 6.74 g
Mass of O = 53.5 g
The number of moles is defined as the ratio of the mass of a substance to its molar mass. The equation used is:
To formulate the empirical formula, we need to follow some steps:
Molar mass of C = 12 g/mol
Molar mass of H = 1 g/mol
Molar mass of O = 16 g/mol
Putting values in equation 1, we get:
Calculating the mole fraction of each element by dividing the calculated moles by the least calculated number of moles that is 3.023 moles
The ratio of C : H : O = 1 : 2 : 1
Hence, the empirical formula of the compound becomes