Question

What is the empirical formula of a substance that contains 8.33×10−2 mol of carbon, 0.167 mol of hydrogen, and 8.32×10−2 mol of oxygen?

Answer 1

Looks to me like C and O are virtually equal and H is double those, so:

CH_20, which is the empirical formula for carbohydrates.

Answer 2

Answer: The empirical formula for the given compound is
`CH_2O`

Step-by-step explanation:

We are given:

Moles of carbon =
`8.33* 10^(-2)mol`

Moles of hydrogen = 0.167 moles

Moles of oxygen =
`8.32* 10^(-2)mol`

To formulate the empirical formula, we need to follow some steps:

• Step 1: Calculating the mole ratio of the given elements.

For the mole ratio, we divide each value of the moles by the smallest number of moles calculated which is
`8.32* 10^(-2)` moles.

For Carbon =
`(8.33* 10^(-2))/(8.32* 10^(-2))=1`

For Hydrogen =
`(0.167)/(8.32* 10^(-2))=2.01\approx 2`

For Oxygen =
`(8.32* 10^(-2))/(8.32* 10^(-2))=1`

• Step 2: Taking the mole ratio as their subscripts.

The ratio of C : H : O = 1 : 2 : 1

Hence, the empirical formula for the given compound is
`CH_2O`