Answer:
C7H6O2
Step-by-step explanation:
Let;
68.8% of Carbon represents 68.8g
4.95% of Hydrogen represents 4.95g
26.25% of Oxygen represent 26.25g
Next, we convert each gram value to mole value by dividing by their respective molar mass {C = 12, H = 1, O = 16}
C = 68.8/12 = 5.73 mol
H = 4.95/1 = 4.95 mol
O = 26.25/16 = 1.64 mol
Next, we divide each mole value by the smallest (1.64mol)
C = 5.73 ÷ 1.64 = 3.49
H = 4.95 ÷ 1.64 = 3.02
O = 1.64 ÷ 1.64 = 1
Next, we multiply each ratio by 2 to obtain our simplest whole number ratio (empirical formula)
C = 3.5 × 2 = 7
H = 3.02 × 2 = 6
O = 1 × 2 = 2
Hence, the ratio of C, H and O is 7:6:2 and the empirical formula of benzoic acid is C7H6O2