Final answer:
The empirical formula of a compound is determined by analyzing the combustion products and calculating the smallest whole number ratio of moles of the constituent elements.
Step-by-step explanation:
Determining the Empirical Formula of Toluene
The empirical formula of a compound can be found by analyzing the amounts of its constituent elements. In the case of toluene's combustion, the products are carbon dioxide (CO₂) and water (H₂O). First, we will convert the mass of CO₂ and H₂O to moles to find out how many moles of carbon and hydrogen were in the original toluene sample. Since CO₂ contains one carbon atom, the number of moles of carbon can be directly found from the mass of CO₂. Similarly, since H₂O contains two hydrogen atoms, the number of moles of hydrogen can be calculated from the mass of H₂O. By comparing the mole ratio of carbon to hydrogen, we can determine the empirical formula.
To calculate the moles of carbon in the CO₂, we use the formula:
Moles of C = (Mass of CO₂ / Molar mass of CO₂)
To calculate the moles of hydrogen in the H₂O, we use the formula:
Moles of H = (Mass of H₂O / Molar mass of H₂O) × 2
After finding the moles of carbon and hydrogen, we divide each by the smallest number of moles to get the simplest whole number ratio. This ratio gives us the empirical formula. For a precise calculation, we would need the molar masses of CO₂ and H₂O; however, since they are not provided, we can proceed assuming typical molar masses.