Question

I have discovered a new compound which I have named MidasEne. It has the ability to magically turn everything that it touches into gold. I am trying to keep the formula proprietary, but you are smart, and you have figured out that my compound has a molar mass of 1,080.54 grams/mol and an empirical formula of C3H4O5. So what is the molecular formula of my secret compound?

Answer 1

molecular formula = C₂₇H₃₆O₄₅

Step-by-step explanation:

In order to find the molecular formula of a compound from its empirical formula, we need to know the number of "empirical formula units" that are in the molecular formula.

To find the number of empirical formula units, n, we use the following formula:

`\boxed{\mathrm{n = (molar \ mass)/(empirical \ formula \ mass)}}`.

The empirical formula mass is simply the molar mass of the compound that is represented by the empirical formula. Therefore, in this case,

Empirical formula mass of C₃H₄O₅ = (12 × 3) + (1 × 4) + (16 × 5)

= 36 + 4 + 80

= 120

Next, we can find the value of n using the above formula:

n =
`(1080.54)/(120)`

= 9.00

Now that we know the number of empirical formula units (n) present in the molecular formula, we simply have to multiply the number of each element present in the empirical formula by n:

Molecular formula = (empirical formula)ₙ

⇒ Molecular formula = (C₃H₄O₅)₉

= C₂₇H₃₆O₄₅

Therefore, the molecular formula of the secret compound is C₂₇H₃₆O₄₅.