Answer to Question #108565 in Inorganic Chemistry for kyayla

Question

A compound with the empirical formula CH4O was found in a subsequent experiment to have a molar mass of approximately 192g. What is the molecular formula of the compound?

Answer 1

An empirical formula is sort of like "We know the ratios of the elements but we don't know how much there is exactly of each element."

We first find the molar mass of CH₄O and that is 1x12 +4x1 + 1x16=32g/mol.

32g/mol x n = 192 g/mol

n=6

n needs to be a whole number because you are multiplying each of the number of elements by n.

Molecular formula would be C₆H₂₄O₆ since you multiply the number of each element by 6.