Answer to Question #63354 in General Chemistry for Keli

Question

How would your calculated value for the empirical formula of magnesium oxide have been affected if all the magnesium in the crucible had not burned?

Answer 1

Actually, you cannot found the empirical formula on the base mass change when a probe of magnesium was not burned up to the end. You have to burn it up to complete transformation of Mg into MgO and then it can be calculated as a difference in mass using the equivalence law.