Final answer:
To find out which molecular formula represents the compound with specific percent compositions of Pd, O, C, and H, one must calculate the empirical formula and compare it to the given choices. After determining the moles of each element, it becomes possible to find the simplest whole number ratio of atoms, leading to the empirical formula. The correct molecular formula should match this empirical information and the provided percent compositions.
Step-by-step explanation:
To determine which molecular formulas could represent the compound with a percent composition of 47.40% Pd, 28.50% O, 21.40% C, and 2.69% H, we need to calculate the empirical formula and then compare this with the provided formulas. An empirical formula represents the simplest whole number ratio of atoms of each element in the compound. Given the molecular formulas to choose from include PdO2C2H3, Pd(O2CCH3)2, Pd(O2C2H3)3, PdO4C2H9, and Pd2C8H12O8, we need to confirm which one aligns with the given percent composition.
Starting with the empirical formula, we determine the moles of each element based on the percent composition and the atomic masses of the elements. For example, to find the moles of Pd, which has an atomic mass of approximately 106.42 amu, we do the following calculation:
- The percent by mass of Pd: (47.40 g Pd / 106.42 g/mol Pd) = 0.445 moles of Pd
We would perform similar calculations for O, C, and H using their respective atomic masses and the percentages. We can then find the ratio of these to get the empirical formula. Assuming the smallest whole number ratio fits with one of the given molecular formulas, that would likely represent the compound in question.
However, it is important to perform the exact calculations and compare the theoretical percent compositions from the given molecular formulas with the empirical formula derived from the percent composition data. If no given molecular formula fits the empirical formula or their percentages do not match the original problem's data, then none of the options provided would correctly represent the compound.