Question

What is the empirical formula for a compound composed of 0.1470 mol of carbon, 0.0735 mol of hydrogen, and 0.0367 mol of nitrogen?

Answer 1

The empirical formula of a compound composed of 0.1470 mol of carbon, 0.0735 mol of hydrogen, and 0.0367 mol of nitrogen is C4H2N, calculated by normalizing the molar amounts of each element to the smallest number and converting to the nearest whole number ratio.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the empirical formula of a compound given the moles of each constituent element, one must follow a series of steps:

1. Find the smallest number of moles out of the given elements, which is 0.0367 mol of nitrogen in this case.
2. Divide the moles of each element by this smallest number to normalize the ratios of the elements to each other.
3. Adjust the resulting ratios to the nearest whole number to yield the empirical formula.

Using the provided information:

• Carbon: 0.1470 mol / 0.0367 mol = approximately 4
• Hydrogen: 0.0735 mol / 0.0367 mol = approximately 2
• Nitrogen: 0.0367 mol / 0.0367 mol = 1

The ratio of C:N:H is therefore 4:1:2, making the empirical formula C4H2N.