Answer:
C₈H₈O₃
Explanation:
The empirical formula is the simplest whole-number ratio of atoms in a compound.
The ratio of atoms is the same as the ratio of moles.
So, our job is to calculate the molar ratio of C:H:O.
Assume 100 g of the compound.
1. Calculate the mass of each element.
Then we have 63.15 g C, 5.30 g H, and 31.55 g O.
2. Calculate the moles of each element
[tex]\text{Moles of C} = \text{63.15 g C} \times \dfrac{\text{1 mol C}}{\text{12.01 g C}} = \text{5.258 mol C}\\\\\text{Moles of H} = \text{5.30 g H} \times \dfrac{\text{1 mol H}}{\text{1.008 g H }} = \text{5.258 mol H}\\\\\text{Moles of O} = \text{31.55 g O} \times \dfrac{\text{1 mol O}}{\text{16.00 g O }} = \text{1.972 mol O}[/tex]
3. Calculate the molar ratio of the elements
Divide each number by the smallest number of moles
C:H:O = 5.258:5.258:1.972 = 2.667:2.666:1
4. Multiply by a number to make each ratio close to an integer
Multiply the ratios by three.
2.667:2.666:1 = 8.000:8.000:3 ≈ 8:8:3
5. Write the empirical formula
EF = C₈H₈O₃
