Question

What is the empirical formula of a substance that contains 12.0 g of c, 2.00 g of h, and 5.33 g of o?

Answer 1

empirical formula is the simplest ratio of whole numbers of components making up a compound.
empirical formula can be calculated as follows
C H O
mass 12.0 g 2.00 g 5.33 g
number of moles
12.0 g / 12 g/mol 2.00 g / 1 g/mol 5.33 g / 16 g/mol
= 1.00 mol = 2.00 mol = 0.333 mol
divide by the least number of moles
1.00 / 0.333 2.00 / 0.333 0.333/ 0.333
= 3.00 = 6.01 = 1.00
the number of atoms
C - 3
H - 6
O - 1
empirical formula is C₃H₆O