The empirical formula for the hydrocarbon is CH₂O.
First, we assume that we have 100g of formaldehyde
According to the question we have 40.0% of carbon, 6.70% of hydrogen, and 53.3% of oxygen. With help of this, we calculate the moles of individual elements.
Moles of C = 40.0 g of C × 1 mol of C / 12.01 g C = 3.331 mol C
Moles of H = 6.7 g of H × 1 mol of H / 1.008 g H = 6.65 mol H
Moles of O = 53.3 g of O × 1 mol of O / 16.00 g O = 3.331 mol O
To get the molar ratio we divide all the moles by the smallest moles which are 3.331. From here the ratio comes out to be C: H: O = 1:2:1.
Thus the empirical formula is, CH₂O.
To learn more about hydrocarbons and alkanes,
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