Answer: To determine the empirical formula of the compound, we need to find the relative number of atoms of each element present in the given sample. The empirical formula represents the simplest whole-number ratio of atoms in a compound.
Given data:
Mass of silver (Ag) = 1.94g
Mass of sulfate (SO4) = 0.268g
Mass of oxygen (O) = 0.253g
Step 1: Find the number of moles of each element:
To find the number of moles, we'll use the molar masses of the elements:
Molar mass of Ag (silver) = 107.87 g/mol
Molar mass of S (sulfur) = 32.06 g/mol
Molar mass of O (oxygen) = 16.00 g/mol
Number of moles of Ag = Mass of Ag / Molar mass of Ag
Number of moles of Ag = 1.94g / 107.87 g/mol ≈ 0.018 moles
Number of moles of Sulfur (S) = Mass of Sulfate / Molar mass of Sulfur
Number of moles of Sulfur (S) = 0.268g / 32.06 g/mol ≈ 0.00836 moles
Number of moles of Oxygen (O) = Mass of Oxygen / Molar mass of Oxygen
Number of moles of Oxygen (O) = 0.253g / 16.00 g/mol ≈ 0.0158 moles
Step 2: Determine the simplest ratio of atoms.
Divide the number of moles of each element by the smallest number of moles to get the simplest whole-number ratio.
The smallest number of moles is approximately 0.00836 moles (moles of sulfur).
Number of moles of Ag / 0.00836 ≈ 0.018 / 0.00836 ≈ 2.16
Number of moles of S / 0.00836 ≈ 0.00836 / 0.00836 ≈ 1
Number of moles of O / 0.00836 ≈ 0.0158 / 0.00836 ≈ 1.89
Step 3: Write the empirical formula using the whole-number ratios from Step 2.
The empirical formula of the compound is Ag₂SO₄.
Note: The empirical formula represents the simplest whole-number ratio of atoms in the compound. In this case, the compound contains two atoms of silver (Ag), one atom of sulfur (S), and four atoms of oxygen (O).