Final answer:
To determine the empirical formula of the compound, convert the percent composition to grams, then to moles, and find the simplest whole number mole ratio. For the compounds with elements silver, nitrogen, and oxygen, the empirical formula is AgNO₃.
Step-by-step explanation:
To determine the empirical formula of a compound containing 63.50% silver (Ag), 8.25% nitrogen (N), and the remainder oxygen (O), we first assume we have 100 grams of the compound, which makes it easy to convert the percentages to grams. Hence, we have 63.50 g of Ag, 8.25 g of N, and 28.25 g of O (since these make up 100%). Next, we need to convert the gram amounts into moles by dividing by their respective atomic masses:
- Ag: 63.50 g / 107.87 g/mol = 0.5888 mol
- N: 8.25 g / 14.01 g/mol = 0.5887 mol
- O: 28.25 g / 16.00 g/mol = 1.7656 mol
Then we divide by the smallest mole number to get the simplest whole number ratio:
- Ag: 0.5888 mol / 0.5887 mol = 1.00
- N: 0.5887 mol / 0.5887 mol = 1.00
- O: 1.7656 mol / 0.5887 mol = 3.00
The empirical formula is thus AgN1O3, which corresponds to the third option: AgNO₃.