Final answer:
The empirical formula of the compound containing 40.0% C, 6.71% H, and 53.28% O is CHO.
Step-by-step explanation:
The empirical formula of a compound containing 40.0% C, 6.71% H, and 53.28% O can be determined by calculating the mole ratios of the elements. To determine the empirical formula, we assume we have 100 grams of the compound. This corresponds to 40.0 grams of C, 6.71 grams of H, and 53.28 grams of O. Next, we convert these masses to moles by dividing by the respective molar masses: 40.0 g C / 12.01 g/mol = 3.33 mol C, 6.71 g H / 1.008 g/mol = 6.65 mol H, and 53.28 g O / 16.00 g/mol = 3.33 mol O.
Next, we divide each mole value by the smallest mole value, which is 3.33 mol, to normalize the ratios. This gives us C1H1O1. However, empirical formulas are typically written with whole number ratios, so we multiply all the subscripts by 3 to get the simplest ratio: C3H3O3. Finally, we divide each subscript by the greatest common divisor, which is 3, to get the empirical formula: CHO.