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Mass spectrometry analysis revealed that the CHO compound had a molar mass of 180 g/mol. What is the molecular formula for this compound?

User Mako
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2 Answers

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Final answer:

The molecular formula for the compound with a molar mass of 180 g/mol and comprised of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen is likely to be C6H12O6, which is the molecular formula for glucose.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the molecular formula for a compound with a molar mass of 180 g/mol and consisting of elements carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O), often abbreviated as CHO, you would first need to find the empirical formula of the compound, which is the simplest whole number ratio of atoms in the molecule. Assuming the empirical formula is CH2O (since this is common for many compounds including sugars and meets the CHO requirement), which has a molar mass of about 30 g/mol, you can divide the given molar mass (180 g/mol) by the empirical formula mass (30 g/mol) to find the ratio between the molecular formula and the empirical formula.

The ratio is 180/30 = 6. Therefore, to find the molecular formula, you multiply the subscripts in the empirical formula by 6. In this case, the molecular formula would be C6H12O6, which is the formula for glucose

User MuneebShabbir
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1 vote

Answer: The molecular formula of compound is
C_6H_6O_6

Step-by-step explanation:

We are given:

Empirical formula of compound = CHO

For determining the molecular formula, we need to determine the valency which is multiplied by each element to get the molecular formula.

The equation used to calculate the valency is :


n=\frac{\text{Molecular mass}}{\text{Empirical mass}}

We are given:

Mass of molecular formula = 180 g/mol

Mass of empirical formula = 29 g/mol

Putting values in above equation, we get:


n=(180g/mol)/(29g/mol)=6.20\approx 6

Multiplying this valency by the subscript of every element of empirical formula, we get:


C_((1* 6))H_((1* 6))O_((1* 6))=C_6H_6O_6

Hence, the molecular formula of compound is
C_6H_6O_6

User Tobylaroni
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