Question

Like glucose, butane and benzene. How would you calculate their formula mass? Would you calculate it as the mass of their empricial formula or their molecular formula (basically same as molecular mass)

I've seen some people say it's the mass of the molecular formula, while others say it's the mass of the empirical formula.

Answer 1

The formula mass of a compound can be calculated using the molecular formula, not the empirical formula.

Step-by-step explanation:

The formula mass of a compound can be calculated using the molecular formula, not the empirical formula. The molecular formula gives the actual numbers of atoms of each element in a molecule of the compound, while the empirical formula only gives the simplest whole-number ratio of the elements.

For example, the molecular formula of glucose is C6H12O6, while the empirical formula is CH2O. Therefore, to calculate the formula mass of glucose, you would use the molecular formula, C6H12O6.