Final answer:
The empirical formula of a compound containing 40.0% C, 6.71% H, and 53.28% O is CH2O.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find the empirical formula of a compound, we need to determine the ratio of different elements present in the compound. In this case, we have 40.0% C, 6.71% H, and 53.28% O.
First, we need to convert the percentages to grams. Assuming we have 100g of the compound, we would have 40.0g C, 6.71g H, and 53.28g O.
Next, we need to convert the grams to moles using the molar mass of each element. The molar mass of C is 12 g/mol, H is 1 g/mol, and O is 16 g/mol. The moles of each element would be 40.0g/12 g/mol = 3.33 mol C, 6.71g/1 g/mol = 6.71 mol H, and 53.28g/16 g/mol = 3.33 mol O.
Finally, we divide the moles of each element by the smallest number of moles to get the simplest whole-number ratio. In this case, the smallest number of moles is 3.33 mol, so the ratio is approximately 1:2:1. Therefore, the empirical formula of the compound is CH2O.