Final answer:
The empirical formula for a compound that is 11.2% hydrogen and 88.8% oxygen is H2O, as we assume a 100g sample and find the simplest whole-number ratio of moles of each element.
Step-by-step explanation:
The empirical formula of a compound is determined based on the relative ratios of different atoms in the compound. To determine the empirical formula, we need to find the mole ratio between the elements present in the compound. In this case, the compound is 11.2% hydrogen and 88.8% oxygen. To find the empirical formula, we assume we have 100 grams of the compound. Therefore, we have 11.2 grams of hydrogen and 88.8 grams of oxygen.
Next, we convert the mass of each element to moles by dividing by the molar mass. The molar mass of hydrogen is 1 g/mol and the molar mass of oxygen is 16 g/mol. The number of moles of hydrogen is 11.2 g / 1 g/mol = 11.2 mol. The number of moles of oxygen is 88.8 g / 16 g/mol = 5.55 mol. Finally, we divide the number of moles of each element by the smallest number of moles to get the mole ratio. The mole ratio is approximately 1:5. Therefore, the empirical formula of the compound is H2O5.