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10. The empirical formula of a compound is CH3O. If the molecular mass is 62.08 g/mol, what is the molecular formula?

User Rafik Bari
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Answer:

The empirical formula of the compound is CH3O, which indicates that it has one carbon atom, three hydrogen atoms, and one oxygen atom.

To determine the molecular formula, we need to know the molecular mass of the compound. The molecular mass of the compound is given as 62.08 g/mol.

The empirical formula mass can be calculated as follows:

Empirical formula mass = (1 x atomic mass of C) + (3 x atomic mass of H) + (1 x atomic mass of O)

= (1 x 12.01) + (3 x 1.01) + (1 x 16.00)

= 31.04 g/mol

To calculate the molecular formula, we need to divide the molecular mass by the empirical formula mass to obtain the ratio of the molecular formula to the empirical formula.

Molecular formula mass/ Empirical formula mass = 62.08 g/mol / 31.04 g/mol = 2

This indicates that the molecular formula is two times the empirical formula. Therefore, the molecular formula of the compound is:

C2H6O2

Note that this formula has twice as many atoms as the empirical formula, while still maintaining the same ratio of atoms

User Elliot Lings
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