Question

Using the rules of chemical notation, write the molecular formula for glucose, a compound composed of 6 carbon atoms, 12 hydrogen atoms, and 6 oxygen atoms."

a) C₆H₆O₆
b) C-6H₁₂O-6
c) C₁₂H-6O₁₂
d) C-1-8H₁₈O₁₈

Answer 1

The molecular formula for glucose is C6H12O6, and its empirical formula is CH2O, representing the simplest ratio of its constituent elements. For metaldehyde, the molecular formula is C8H16O4, and the empirical formula is C2H4O.

Step-by-step explanation:

The molecular formula for glucose is C6H12O6, reflecting the compound's composition of 6 carbon atoms, 12 hydrogen atoms, and 6 oxygen atoms. This formula indicates that one molecule of glucose contains these numbers of atoms respectively. In contrast, the empirical formula represents the simplest whole-number ratio of the elements within the compound, which for glucose is CH2O (1:2:1 ratio of carbon to hydrogen to oxygen atoms).

Applying the rules of chemical notation to metaldehyde, which consists of 8 carbon atoms, 16 hydrogen atoms, and 4 oxygen atoms, gives us a molecular formula of C8H16O4. The empirical formula for metaldehyde, determined by finding the simplest whole-number ratio, is C2H4O, which is the molecular formula divided by the greatest common divisor for each element's count (4 in this case).